For You: Memories of the Past
by madamxcrystalxrose
Summary: This is a side story of my other story For You, showing the memories of Naruto before everything went down the drain. As Rokudaime Hokage, Naruto needed a bodyguard and somehow, he gets Genma as his teacher as well. Spending time together, he realizes, Genma may be a bit of a pervert, but there's something special about the brunet who'd do anything for Naruto.
1. Memory 0: Teach Me Sensei!

So I've noticed the few number of Genma and Naruto fanfics out there. . . Guess what this is!

Yep, it's a GenmaxNaruto fanfic. Now this _can_ be read on it's own, but let me warn you now, this will only give you a brief summary of what's actually happening plot-wise, so it'll skip some things.

Main Pairings: GenmaxNaruto, GaaraxOC, KakashixOC, ShikaTema, SasuHina

Just to make this clear, these chapters will appear in For You, but it'll be accompanied by the actual plot of For You. These are just some flashbacks all grouped together for an easier time to read!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! If not, I hope you'll find something else amazing to read!

xXx

Naruto stretched, yawning in his mindscape. Kurama was taking a nap, saying he needed a break from dealing with Naruto. The blond just scowled in response.

He sighed and fell onto the surface of the water.

It was official, he was bored.

He had to wait for his bunshin to report back and now that Kurama was napping, he couldn't help but start thinking about life before everything went down the drain. Before Konoha was destroyed by an unknown enemy. When he spent his days at meetings or doing paperwork. Back before his friends passed away. He didn't want to be stuck in his own body, unable to move because his chakra was still in the process of replenishing itself. He was grateful he could at least make kage bunshin to check up on his friends. He didn't want them to be suffering.

He didn't expect Sasuke, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Manami to drag him back to the past with them. He had, with all honesty, used the time-reverse jutsu left in the Hokage desk as the last resort. He didn't expect to be back in the past as well.

With a sigh, he remembered when he first met his bodyguard/sensei. Right now, he was tempted to check up on the laidback brunet who was probably at a bar with Anko and Aoba.

The blond twenty-one year old shivered at the unwanted memory of his untimely death. _Damn, I really didn't want to remember that... Come on Naruto, happy thoughts! _

xXx

"What the heck's that?" Naruto raised an eyebrow and leaned over his desk. His white Hokage hat was hung on the back of his seat, allowing him to see better. The damn Hokage outfit was just too much! The hat and a light cloak was more than enough.

Sakura sighed and restrained the urge to punch her blond Hokage. Instead, she shoved the paper closer to the blond's face and pointed to the title while holding up a folder.

"This, Naruto, is the list of both active and non-active ANBU members," she answered.

Naruto leaned back. "Yeah? What about it?"

Sakura took a deep breath. Kami-sama have mercy on her. Was her friend really this dense? Ah, she gave up. With her right hand, she hit Naruto on his head. "Naruto! Were you even paying attention to the previous council meeting?!"

The blond rubbed his head and pouted pathetically. "Aww, come on Sakura-chan! Those geezers were so boring! I had to pinch myself to stay awake! I can't wait until everyone from our generation replaces them!"

Sakura sighed. "Naruto, I know you're excited, but you need to pay attention! This is extremely important!"

Forcing himself, his blue eyes narrowed at the paper in front of him, and he read the paragraph on the top. Then he blinked. "Wha? I need a bodyguard? What for? I can take care of myself!"

Thump!

"Baka!" Sakura yelled out, returning her arm back to her side, ignoring Naruto's yelp of pain. "Don't forget that there's still assassinations! Did you forget how many Tsunade-shishou had before she retired?!"

Silenced filled the air and Naruto sighed in defeat. Damn, he did remember. Of course, none of them succeeded, but that possibility of being killed was still very real even if he had a desk job now.

"Gomen, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, taking the paper and folder from her. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll look through it during my lunch break." He held a hand up to stop her protest and gestured at the stacks of paperwork on his desk. So far, the paper only occupied his desk. He didn't know how long that would last though.

She scowled and crossed her arms. "Fine, but that better be the very first thing! Don't you dare get ramen before picking out your guards."

He nodded and she sighed, a fond, exasperated smile showed up on her face. "I just don't want you to get hurt Naruto. You've been injuring yourself for the sake of Konoha, so don't forget that you've got us."

He grinned. "Ah, don't worry Sakura-chan! I'll definitely have a list by the end of the day!"

She nodded. "Good. I'll be going then, I've got an operation to prepare for."

"See ya at 7?"

She rolled her eyes. "Baka, don't make it sound like a date. Everyone else from our generation's going to be there as well."

Ever since the Shinobi Nations became peaceful once more, everyone from his generation met up at different resturants to catch up. He pouted playfully. "You're no fun at all Sakura-chan!"

She laughed and walked out. "You're here, that's enough fun for me."

Naruto chuckled before he looked down at the paper and folder.

Then he looked at the stacks of paperwork.

"Eh, I'll do it later." He ignored the paperwork and began flipping through profiles of ANBU members. Some of the members he recognized, while others were a mystery.

When he came to Kakashi, Gai, and Yamato, he grinned. Man was he tempted to assign them as his guards just to bore them!

Then he shook his head as another thought appeared. "Nah, I'll just assign them new genin teams or something. Maybe I'll put Gai-sensei as an Academy teacher?"

Yeah, his prankster side liked the sound of that.

His eyebrows rose when he came across another familiar face. "Hey this guy with the senbon!"

He paused.

"What's his name again?"

"Shiranui Genma," came another voice.

Naruto fell back in his chair at the shock. "Itai!" He rubbed his head as he stood up.

His blue eyes met amused brown eyes. He scowled. "Hey! You're supposed to knock before you enter ya know! Sakura-chan would've had my head if _I _didn't knock!"

The older man smiled smugly. "I _did_ knock. Your secretary told me enter after I waited for ten minutes."

Naruto stared at the man, his irritation fading away. "You did?"

"I did," he confirmed, shoving his hands into his pants' pockets.

Naruto chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. "Ehehe... Oops, I guess I didn't hear."

His comment was met with silence.

"Uh," Naruto scrambled for a way to get rid of the awkward silence. "So what brings you here? Is there something I can do for you Genma-" he paused. How was he supposed to address this guy?

Genma was a few years older than Kakashi-sensei, but he wasn't a jonin, he was a tokubetsu jonin like Anko. He'd use -san then?

But it didn't really sound right.

He was tempted to not use an honorific at all, but Manami-chan told him it was kinda rude to _not _use an honorific, but then Hinata-chan added that using the wrong honorific could worsen a relationship!

Gah! What was he to do?!

Wait, was he even supposed to call the guy by his first name?

Oh shoot!

He remembered Manami adding how using first names was pretty intimate. Damnit, other than the Chuunin Exams, he didn't really see the other man very often.

"Uh, I mean Shiranui-san," he added, uncertain if he was being too formal or something. Plus, it kinda was weird using such formal wording...

"I'm fine with Genma," the brown-haired man replied. His senbon lifted up as he smiled lazily. "No need for formalities, I don't really care much for them."

"Ah, alright then, Genma-san." Naruto grinned and sighed in relief. _Phew, that went well. _

Then Naruto noticed the man was frowning. _Ah shit, did I screw up on something?!_

Then the frown disappeared. Genma looked at Naruto in the eyes. "Let me be your bodyguard."

Silence.

Complete.

Shocked.

Silence.

"Uh what?" Naruto managed to stammer out. Wow, he didn't know that would've caused his mind to stop so fast. He distantly could make out Kurama's snickers.

_Stupid fox. _

**Stupid human. **

_Touché. _

**You don't even know what that means. **

_Ah shut it!_

"I was on your father's guard platoon before he died," Genma began slowly, unaware of Naruto's inner banter. "After he died, I went into ANBU for seven years until I was honorably discharged for mental safety." He smirked. "But during my time as an ANBU, I was assigned to watch this brat who became a prankster."

Naruto gaped. He was sure his jaw was touching the floor. Then suddenly, he realized why he didn't notice Genma's entrance. The man's chakra had been something he had grown used to as he grew up.

"Holy crap! You! You're-you're-"

Genma smirked, a sight that really should've been illegal for the ovaries that were bound to explode. "Ryuu."

Naruto's jaws didn't move from the ground. Genma's smirk, however, didn't do much to the young Hokage. Then again, he never was the brightest with romance. *coughShionandHinatacough*

Then the door slammed open.

Naruto jumped up at the slam and Genma looked over at the door, somewhat annoyed at being interrupted.

"Iruka-sensei?!"

The chuunin glared but for once, it wasn't directed at Naruto. "I knew it!" The chuunin pointed at Genma. "I thought I felt something was going to happen!"

Naruto stared at Iruka. What was his old sensei talking about?

Genma raised an eyebrow and his smirk disappeared into an amused smile. "So Aoba _was_ right when he said you had a Mother Hen's instincts."

Iruka glared and walked in front of Naruto who was still confused. "Naruto!"

"Yeah?" the blond warily answered back. Wow, his sensei had not lost his touch on getting him to behave. Despite being Hokage, he suddenly felt like he was an Academy student again.

"Genma is very dangerous! I can't let him be with you 24/7! You'd lose something very important!"

"Wha?" Naruto furrowed his brows together, trying to make sense of whatever Iruka-sensei was talking about.

Genma sighed, but his eyes were bright in amusement. He couldn't wait to tell Aoba and Anko. "I won't try anything on him, Iruka." _I can wait,_ he added mentally. _For a short time anyways._

The chuunin shook his head, feeling like there was definitely something Genma was leaving out. "You say that now but-"

"Iruka-sensei! What are you guys talking about?!" Naruto shouted out, standing up from his chair. "Dammit! I'm right here! Don't I get a say in this?!"

Iruka frowned. Ah, he got carried away. "Ah, gomen Naruto-kun. It's just that I had a bad feeling."

Truth be told, Iruka had been in the middle of organizing lessons when he felt a shiver crawl up his spine. At first, he shook it off, but when he thought of Naruto, instead of pride, he felt panic. Then, he was out faster than the coffee in the teachers' lounge.

Iruka's glare reappeared as his gaze fell to Genma. "And I was right to be worried!"

Naruto blinked once. Then twice. "What?"

Was Genma a dangerous criminal?

Nah, that wasn't it. After all, the man was in ANBU. Hmm, Naruto seriously didn't get it. What made Iruka-sensei so panicked for _him_?

Then the dark, menacing air around Iruka only grew heavier.

"Naruto," Iruka began slowly, looking straight at Genma, "_This_ man here will take away that previous thing you hold so dear to you before you even realize it."

Hmm.

Nope.

Naruto still didn't get it.

"What's he gonna take?" Naruto asked cluelessly. His Hokage hat? Gamma-chan? Miss Tsubaki, his plant at home?

Iruka stopped, eyes wide. "What?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and flailed his arms. "I don't know what Genma's going to take away from me!"

Silence.

Then Genma began chuckling.

Iruka blushed in mortification and stammered, "Err, you don't know? I-I mean I guess you did skip that lesson now that I think about it..."

Naruto leaned forward, eyes hopeful. "Then could ya quickly teach me, Iruka-sensei?"

Before Iruka could even answer, Genma smirked, seeing a great opportunity. "Why don't _I _teach you? I'm much more experienced in that area."

Naruto grinned, completely oblivious to what Genma really meant, "Really?! Sweet! Wow! I can't believe someone knows more than Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka paled. Then he shook his head. "No! I'm fine helping you with that subject!"

Genma raised an eyebrow. "Ah, but I can give you hands-on experience."

Iruka scowled. "I'll make sure you're not violated!"

Genma smirked again at Naruto who could only gape. Was he being fought over as a student? That was a definite first. "The lessons will be at comfortable places," Genma offered, "I'll even buy you ramen."

Naruto looked over at Genma. "Free ramen?"

The man nodded. "You won't pay a thing."

Iruka shook his head furiously. "No! Don't fall for his tricks Naruto! He's a womanizer! He knows how to work your heart!"

Naruto paused at Iruka's comment. "So he knows how I think?"

Iruka nodded, a grateful smile on his face. "Yes! That's why it's dangerous!"

The blond Hokage looked down in thought. _Huh, someone who understands how I think?_

Seeing his student's pensive frown, Iruka continued trying to damn Genma. Who cares if the brown-haired man would tell this to Aoba and Anko! His old student's chastity was at stake here!

"What's more, he even knows what your habits are, your likes and dislikes, and where you now live!" Iruka was sure this new information would creep Naruto out! As a matter of fact, Iruka _did_ go out, just not very often. Every time he went to a bar, he always found Genma, Aoba, and Anko there. The long, brown-haired man occasionally brought up Naruto, but it was enough that Iruka became cautious.

Naruto's brows rose up. "What? How does he know that?"

"I have my ways," Genma replied vaguely. Really, it was almost as though he wasn't there at all. However, he was starting to become slightly apprehensive. Iruka's sudden appearance was unexpected and now, the chuunin was doing his best to freak Naruto out.

It wasn't _his _fault he overheard things during his bar visits and that he liked being up to date about his Hokage. Naruto looked away from the other men, and Genma mentally cursed at Iruka. There goes his chance of trying to get to know the Yondaime's son.

The only blond in the room sighed dramatically and hummed. Then he grinned at Iruka. "Thanks Iruka-sensei! I wasn't really sure, but now I'm 100% sure!"

The chuunin smiled and hoped that the dread in his stomach was going to disappear soon.

Then his worst nightmare came true.

His ex-student turned to Genma. "When are you free?" Naruto asked, tilting his head slightly with a grin.

The other men blinked at their Hokage.

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. "What? Sasuke told me that as Hokage, I needed to choose the best choice!"

Iruka shook his head to clear away his shock. "B-but why?!"

Naruto smiled, completely clueless. "Well you said he understood me right? Manami-chan and Hinata-chan always told me to follow my heart when I'm in a pinch! If Genma understands me, then that's pretty awesome! I even get free ramen! Plus, Kakashi-sensei told me I learn better doing things by experience!"

Iruka heard cracks-make that shattering glass. _Billions _of shattering glass to be exact.

Ah, so that's what it was like to have your world destroyed in front of your eyes.

He just couldn't believe it!

Naruto had learned important lessons from his friends, but they were being applied the wrong way!

Genma smirked; the smugness of victory over Iruka radiating off the man, which only made Iruka more irritable. "I'm free right now," he answered to Naruto in a smooth, suave voice.

It didn't have the intended effect on Naruto who grinned (completely oblivious to the atmosphere Genma was trying to set) back instead of blushing like mad.

"Sweet! I'll do my paperwork later!" He paused and hummed before grinning at Genma again. "I'll just tell Sakura-chan you're my new bodyguard or something! Let's go eat ramen to celebrate!"

Iruka was too shell-shocked to move as his favorite student exited the office with Genma.

Then he remembered that Genma would _definitely_ be telling this to Anko.

"Hey! My favorite dango-making guy with a sexy scar! What a coincidence."

The gods were laughing at Iruka weren't they?

-To Be Continued-

xXx

Ah, I really enjoy writing Naruto being oblivious to anything to do with romance. So was Genma in character? I based him off of the Genma I usually see when he's paired up with Ino because it's pretty fun writing him as a lazy, possessive pervert. Ah, a seme that treats his uke nicely~! When not in bed ;) ...I need to get my head out of the gutter XD

Anyway, hope you enjoy! (I wonder if I should tell them that this is probably gonna hurt?)


	2. Memory 1: How To Cure A Headache

Memory 1: How To Cure A Headache... Genma Style

Naruto sighed and set down the report back on his desk. His head really hurt with all this reading and thinking.

Should he agree to the new proposal on a new park? Maybe he should focus on the new law the Council proposed to him? Or should he look at the new missions that needed to be done immediately?

_Ah! Goddammit! My head hurts too much to think!_

The blond Hokage ruffled his hair, trying to lessen the thundering pressure he felt in his temples. No one told him being Hokage would lead to days like today. He just wanted to go back to bed and pretend none of this happened!

Then he heard a small clink on his desk.

His blue eyes blinked in confusion and surprise. With a small sniff, he easily identified the drink in the dark clay cup. "Tea?"

His gaze fell over at his newly assigned bodyguard. Genma gave him a lazy smile. "Figured you could use some help."

Naruto smiled in appreciation. He would never be able to label specific brands and tell with a sip if the tea was brewed correctly or not, but he _did _know that it helped with headaches. "Sweet!"

"No actually," Genma corrected, shoving his hands into his pockets, "I left it unsweetened."

"What?! Why?!" Naruto screeched in horror. He really wasn't a tea enthusiast and enjoyed the sweetness of sugar in his tea. After Kiba's never-ending jokes about him adding milk in his tea, he weaned himself off, but sugar was something he'd never live without.

Genma had the nerve to smirk at Naruto, a sight that made the young Hokage instantly weary. What was his bodyguard plotting? One week was enough to show that Iruka was right, Genma was planning something. Maybe he should've asked his old teacher for help on what he skipped...

His thoughts were interrupted when Genma walked behind his chair. The younger man stiffened as Genma laid his hands on his shoulders. "...What are you doing...?" he asked in dread. He didn't know whether to faint from shock or right hook the guy. He's done both ways before and neither seemed to work.

"Isn't it self-explanatory, Naruto? I think this is the perfect time for another lesson," Genma purred out. Yes, he _purred_, Naruto could confirm this, the man's voice was right next to his ear after all. The cool senbon that brushed against his cheek was enough to tell him this wasn't a dream.

Naruto just paled. He did this for free ramen and so that Sakura-chan would stop nagging him about having a bodyguard, but now, he was wondering if he made the right choice. "Ehehe... I think that can wait, Genma, I mean," his hands waved around in exaggeration at the growing paperwork he had to do. "Just look at all of this paperwork! Someone's gotta do it, and it just kinda happens to me! So, uh, lessons can wait!"

Yeah! That sounded good! He was a Hokage, he had duties to attend to! It wasn't an excuse! Plus, Genma just kinda made him feel...funny.

It was hard for him to describe it really. He was confused with how he felt about Genma.

While Genma did weird things like ruffling his hair, hugging him from behind, and sleeping in the same bed as him (that really took a _lot_ to get used to), Naruto couldn't sense any bad intentions like he would with enemies. Genma wasn't trying to kill him, but Naruto still didn't know what the older man wanted. Heck, if anything, Kurama had just been laughing at him the entire time, refusing to explain anything. If his biju friend didn't feel in danger, then it was...okay?

But he had grown up with perverts his entire life: the Old Man, Ebisu, Kakashi-sensei, Ero-sennin, etc. Growing up with them, he had enough experience to know when something perverted was going on. Actually, if he recalled correctly, Ero-sennin had a scene like this in one of his books...

Genma didn't even get to step two when he was sent flying over Naruto's desk. Luckily, he was a shinobi and landed on his feet, his face betraying a look of surprise as his senbon almost fell out.

The blond stood up and pointed a finger at the other man in the room. "Oi! What the hell are you doing?!"

The brunet just raised an eyebrow. "Wasn't it obvious? I was going to offer you a massage."

"I don't need one! This is just like one of Ero-sennin's scenes!" he cried out in horror.

"I didn't know you were a fan," Genma jokingly added.

Naruto's eyes just grew at that. "No way! Ero-sennin had me edit his books before!" He sighed and plopped tiredly back down in his seat. His right hand ran through his hair. His headache was still there, actually, it felt worse. "Dammit, stupid headache. You just made it grow more!" He pouted as his head hit his desk.

Genma blinked as he looked closer at the blond's face. Sure enough, Naruto had bags under his blue eyes. He remembered that his new charge had nothing other than ramen as his meals as well. _Wow, I'm doing a shit job at watching over him as his bodyguard,_ he mused silently. Sure the blond was still alive, but at this rate, Genma had a feeling Naruto would fall due to being preoccupied with his job as Hokage. The blond was always putting others first, meaning his own health came last. It was stupid but admirable.

With a new lesson plan in mind, Genma walked over to the blond who just wearily glanced up. The pout the younger man wore was tearing into his self-control, but he held himself back, he was a professional, he could control himself...somewhat.

He gave his Hokage a small grin and ruffled the blond hair with his hand. As Naruto opened his mouth to complain, Genma leaned down and feeling risky, nuzzled the blond hair before planting a soft kiss on the golden locks. He turned away and over his shoulder, told the blond with a smug smirk, "See? It's gone now isn't it? I'll go get lunch, you look too tired for ramen, I'll surprise you with something else today."

"...Jerk," Naruto muttered under his breath, his hands going to where Genma had touched. The man was right, his headache was gone now, but replacing it was a furious blush. _Why the hell did Genma have to do that...?_

Now his face was hotter than normal and his chest was feeling funny.

_Stupid Genma and his way of doing things..._

-To Be Continued-


	3. Memory 2: Genma, the Housewife

Memory 2: Genma, the housewife

Sasuke just blinked at the scene his dark eyes were seeing. He was currently sitting on a couch in his best friend's house. Despite the blond being Hokage, he was still pretty modest with his housing situation. It was still larger than most homes, but it wasn't a compound or a mansion. In fact, it reminded Sasuke more of a house fit for a family of four or five.

The house wasn't the problem though, it was the current residents that were.

He calmly took a sip of the tea, brewed correctly and with just the right amount of balance between bitter and sweet, before rubbing the bridge of his nose. The only problem was that it was missing that particular scent that always came with Hinata's tea.

"What's wrong Sasuke-san?"

The Uchiha looked over at the Hyuga sitting next to him. Her soft eyes were worried for him, noticing his stress and disbelief.

He grunted and looked over at the kitchen where a tall brunet was currently washing dishes while chatting with a blue-eyed blond. Following his gaze, Hinata tilted her head before a small, gentle smile fell on her lips. Amazingly enough, she had been able to interpret his grunts and body language faster than his fangirls. Then again, she did grow up around apathetic men and women.

"Genma-san really looks out for Naruto-kun," she commented happily. The violet-haired teen had been worried about the stress of leading a hidden village. Naruto was strong, but he didn't have very much experience dealing with the paper side of the job. She was unsure if the blond had gotten an idea of how to balance work and play.

"Cooking's not part of the job description," Sasuke dryly replied with an unamused face.

Hinata smiled a little bit, knowing that it would be okay to joke a bit more until he got mad. "Neither are drawing baths, doing laundry, shopping for groceries, and being affectionate."

He gave her small look of hidden surprise at her words.

She held back a laugh, showing her amusement through her eyes instead. "...Naruto-kun and I talk a bit when you must visit the Tower. Genma-san takes his job very seriously."

"Hn, I thought he was a bodyguard, not a housewife."

Hinata was silent, her eyes growing in surprise. _Did...did Sasuke-san make a joke...?_ That was definitely a first in the time she's known him...which actually wasn't that long. They never really talked before he was placed under her watch.

"What?" he asked, crossing his arms and scowling at her expression.

"Y-you..." She really was speechless.

He frowned. "If you can't speak coherently, then don't say anything until you can."

"Hey! Don't bully Hinata-chan!" Naruto scolded from his spot. The blond frowned as he exited the kitchen. "Geez teme, pull that stick from your behind!"

"Says the one that's getting a d-"

Hinata's eyes widened in shock, horror, and embarrassment. "S-Sasuke-san is a very kind person!" she quickly interrupted, trying to hide her horror at what he was possibly indicating. "He's just very direct and honest!" she added, her cheeks reddening as the two looked at her in surprise at her outburst.

Naruto just blinked before replying, "Really? I don't think anyone's ever said that about the teme so genuinely before Hinata-chan! Although, 'kind' is definitely a word I wouldn't use to describe the teme, just look at that face he's making!"

Hinata had to control herself to not whimper at the dark look Sasuke was giving her. Even if he was now a jonin like her, he was still _leagues_ ahead of her.

"Oi, Naruto," the blond looked over at Genma's voice.

"Yeah?" he shouted back as the older man walked into the living room.

"Did you want to take a bath? You had a long council meeting today." Sasuke and Hinata's eyes just grew as they noticed that the man wore an orange apron.

Naruto was hesitant in his answer, clearly thinking it out. "...Sure," he answered slowly before exploding in frustration, "But you can't come in! That's too weird and creepy! You and your damn massages! And stay in your own room tonight! Do you know how creepy it is to wake up to find that you've been staring at me for over ten minutes?!"

Genma smirked, ignoring the complaints and retorting with, "Oh? If I remember correctly, you were the one who grabbed onto me first Naruto. Weren't you also the one who nuzzled against my chest?"

Naruto gaped at the retorts. "What?! No way! Your arms were around my waist, my _waist, _this morning! And don't you play dumb, I know you were the one that played with my hair!"

"You leaned into my touch," Genma smugly shot back, taking notice that the other two teens were shocked at their bantering.

"Argh! You're...you're insufferable!" Naruto shouted out, leaving a very confused Hinata and Sasuke as he stomped away.

"The bath's already been drawn," Genma replied over his shoulder. Naruto's reply was muffled, but Genma just grinned. He looked over at Sasuke with a smirk. "Well, since I'm such a good 'housewife', I'll go see if my so-called 'husband' needs any help. After all, I prefer to give than to receive. I'm sure you two can see yourselves out."

Sasuke and Hinata almost choked on air at Genma's comments. The suggestive activity was not unheard to them. They stood up to leave and being polite, Hinata bowed and quickly said, "Good bye Genma-san. I hope you and Naruto-kun have a good night!"

Genma's smirk just grew larger. "Oh, trust me, it'll be a good night."

Hinata just squeaked at the not-so-innocent comment before Sasuke growled and used shunshin to bring them both back to their shared apartment.

-To Be Continued-

xXx

AN: There was actually no hot smex between Naruto and Genma, he just likes screwing with their heads! XD Thanks for following and favoriting ZillyyMe, asmatis, wolfmoon30, and ytygr!


	4. Memory 3: Why Naruto Hates Bath Time

Memory 3: Why Naruto Hates "Bath Time"

If your name wasn't Uzumaki Naruto, you probably enjoy bathing.

You might liked having bubbles that smelled like vanilla or something fruity like apples.

Your favorite shampoo could be something that helps make your hair shinier, but you use it for the bubbles it creates.

You might even have conditioner that you enjoy lathering on because it was smooth.

The body wash you used could smell like vanilla and oranges. Maybe you even had a sponge or washcloth.

Maybe there were rubber ducks floating happily as well, each with a nation's symbol decorating its forehead protector.

But if your name was Uzumaki Naruto, you hated baths like those because of one man named Shiranui Genma.

Currently, Naruto was taking a bath, but instead of relaxing, he was on alert. His blue eyes were carefully making sure that the door was locked and that the seals to prevent the use of shunshin were on and fully working. He didn't want anyone to bother him.

He knew that his house was surrounded with ANBU members courtesy of Sakura who told him he needed more than just one bodyguard. His body had been black and blue that day. She really didn't hold back on him.

Sighing in relief, Naruto flicked a rubber duck with Suna's symbol to the other side of the huge bath tub. Why he had such a nice bath tub, he didn't know, but he was tempted to return it back. It was big enough to comfortably fit three people with plenty of room left over.

He leaned against the side of the tub, relieved at the day going by somewhat uneventfully. Today was just another day full of paperwork.

His back muscles hurt from being in one position for so long, and he was glad for the soothing smells of his bath. They really were a great help to his headache.

Now if only he could find a way to get rid of the headache caused by Genma.

The man was a great bodyguard, never really bothering him during meetings, but when he wasn't in meetings, the man always acted like...like a housewife or something.

His friends always teased him during their get-togethers, the only time Genma would leave alone.

Manami had been shocked that he showed up alone, saying that she was used to seeing the two of them together. Hinata, Sakura, and Ino agreed with the brunette, something that made him mentally wail.

The guys even joined in on the teasing! He swore he'd find a way to get back at those traitors!

"You look pretty mad."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Thanks Captain Obvious. It's all your damn fault anyways! All of my friends think-" Wait a second... That voice hadn't been Kurama's.

His eyes grew wide as he looked over at the door which was wide open. "How—?! The door?!"

Genma smirked and shrugged. "It was only a door. Did you really think a door could keep me away from helping you with your bath?"

Naruto scowled and in his indignation, stood up as well, pointing in irritation at the older man. "You! I don't need help taking a damn bath! I can wash myself without needing any help! Now get out you pervert!"

Genma didn't move, in fact, Naruto watched as the man's smirk only grew larger. "Well, I thought that your pale friend had been right, but now that I can see it, he's quite wrong."

_It?_ Naruto wondered. What was Genma talking about? Wait, had the other man even been paying attention to what he said?! "Oi! Listen to what other people say!"

The brunet just closed the door and Naruto suddenly had a bad feeling. "Perhaps you should listen to what _I_ say, Naruto. After all, I'm your new sensei as well aren't I?" Genma smoothly added as his voice suddenly became deeper. Taking off his orange apron, he threw the garment to the tiled bathroom floor. "I even prepared you a bath for this lesson."

Naruto frowned, what was the other man getting at? Didn't he prepare the bath to help him relax? He pointed this out wearily to Genma.

Genma smiled lazily, yet there was a strange, almost predatory gleam in his eyes. "Yeah, but now I'll help you get to true relaxation."

It was then that Naruto felt a cold wind that he sat down, but his suspicious glare didn't leave Genma. Wait a sec, when did Genma lose his shirt?

Wait, why was the man still moving closer?!

"Uh, what are you doing Genma?" Naruto stumbled out. Did the other man get some stains on his clothes or something?

A low chuckle left Genma's lips, the senbon tilting to the side as he replied, "It's Genma-_sensei_ right now Naruto. I'm about to teach you something...something very hands-on."

Huh?! What could the strange, confusing man mean?! Naruto just glared, "What the hell are you talking about? And there's no way I'm calling you that!"

Genma was standing right next to the tub now, leaning over Naruto with a lazy smirk. "Don't worry, just leave it to me, Naruto."

Naruto shivered at the way Genma said his name. What was that all about? He backed away from Genma, his back hitting the opposite side of the tub. Then his eyes widened as Genma stepped in the tub. That was not an invitation to the other man! Heck, this wasn't a hot spring's bath!

And wait, when had Genma taken off his pants?!

The other man wasn't even wearing his bandana! The only thing left was his senbon! When Genma grabbed an orange washcloth, silently amused at the color that was almost everywhere, his eyes zeroed in on Naruto.

Then Genma moved towards the young blond.

Naruto dodged the stretched out hand.

Still not giving up, Genma quickly grabbed another washcloth and attacked with his left hand.

The blond dodged that as well, wondering if perhaps the man was trying to teach him how to dodge? He wasn't as fast as Sasuke, but he could dodge just fine!

So in retaliation, he grabbed a rubber duck, filled it with water in one squeeze, and aimed the water stream at Genma.

He didn't miss.

As Naruto bursted out in laughter, Genma twitched in growing frustration as his hair was now wet. This was definitely not what he had planned. He sighed, so much for that romantic bath.

Feeling fed up at being laughed at, he grabbed another duck and squirted the bath water at Naruto.

At Naruto's squawk of surprise, he grinned. As the battle of water continued, Genma decided, this wasn't that bad.

And so, Naruto hated baths not because he was always joined by his bodyguard, but because he always lost at the ensuing water battle.

-To Be Continued-

AN: Ahh! Thank you so much for the kind review RukaRukia! I'm so flattered knowing that I'm doing a good job! Thanks again for following and favoriting! Next update is this Friday!


	5. Memory 4: Late Nights

Memory 4: Late Nights

It was another one of those days.

The days Naruto really dreaded but didn't know until it was too late.

He walked into the Hokage Tower with a great grin, happily greeting everyone he met on his way. Just like any other day, he opened his office door and stopped.

Then he closed it.

_That...was a dream right? _He mentally pleaded for mercy as he opened the door again.

It wasn't a dream.

He sunk to his knees, his bright, happy mood long-gone.

Naruto ignored the whispers from behind him. They didn't understand his pain! Kami, why did people have to give him so much paperwork?!

And so, Naruto passed his day in the office, frantically trying to finish his workload. He had tried using bunshin to make it go faster after his office was swamped with paperwork, but the memories that bombarded him after they were dismissed... He hadn't been able to move for two days.

The young Hokage yawned and stretched before looking out the large glass windows behind him. "Damn, it's already this late?!"

The sun was barely visible now, the stars already peeking out from the darkness of night. He wondered if Gaara and his new wife Asami were watching the setting sun in Suna. Those two were always watching the setting sky, waiting for the stars to shine down on them. He had never known Gaara was such a romantic until Asami secretly told him one day when he visited the couple in Suna for the Chuunin Exams. Then again, it could just be Asami's doing.

Honestly, he had been so happy his friends were doing so well together. It was great to see all of his friends moving on in life after the war. Maybe some of them would even be able to fulfill their dreams? After all, he had fulfilled his dream of becoming Hokage.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he looked back in his office at the clock. His eyebrows rose and he debated whether to stay or not.

His gaze fell on the stack of paper he was currently on. It was a new proposal on how to make the orphanage better. Even now, he could still remember how horrible it was when he stayed in the orphanage. No one played with him, and no one paid attention to him.

Deciding he didn't want other kids to have to go through such mistreatment, he pushed ahead, setting a goal to finish the stack before heading home. His gaze fell to the man on his couch. Usually Genma stood behind him, but that was only when someone was coming in, otherwise, the man sat or laid on the couch.

"Hey Genma," the man looked over with a raised eyebrow, "You can head home first. I'll come home when I finish this proposal for the orphanage." He raised his hand to stop Genma's protest. "Look, I know you're tired okay? Go ahead, you deserve a break," he shooed the man with his hand and smiled to reassure the man. "I've still got my ANBU, and they rotate so they're not tired like you."

Genma sighed, "Fine," he grumbled unhappily, "Don't stay too late, you need your sleep as well." Naruto just nodded back before he looked down, focused on his current and future orphan citizens. They deserved happiness just like any other kid.

When Naruto looked up again at the clock, his eyes widened. It was already past midnight?!

His blue orbs found their way to the cause of his late night, and he glared at the stacks of paper. The orphanage proposal had been checked thoroughly by him, not wanting any loopholes for greedy jerks to use, but then he noticed that the file underneath was about the security routines in Konoha. Remembering how easily he had snuck into the Hokage Tower as a thirteen-year-old, he itched to the fix the security.

Which took another hour and a half when he realized how he had to efficiently use his available shinobi without tiring them out. He didn't want to overwork his shinobi, but he didn't want some missing-nin to get his or her grubby hands on Konoha's secrets. In total, he spent about three hours just making a draft. He'd have to go over this with his ANBU Commander and Shikamaru before it was finalized.

Stretching to help his stiff body, Naruto stood up and yawned. "Ah, I'm exhausted..." Looking around, he only felt more exhausted when he noticed that there were still plenty stacks left. That would take him at least a week to complete! Not to mention, the stacks would be growing as well!

He wanted to scream and yell out in frustration, but the last time he did that, his ANBU Guard squad had freaked out, thinking some enemy shinobi had done something to him. So, as much as he'd enjoy shouting and cursing at the cruel world, he held it in. Naruto wasn't in the mood to get complaints from his citizens as well since that meant _more_ paperwork!

With a resigned sigh, he left the building. The last time he tried using shunshin when he was tired left him in a very awkward position (Ino still held it against him for accidentally appearing at her place. Damn Genma for leaving a bouquet of sunflowers and lilacs!).

Usually, Genma would be by his side as they headed home together, but Naruto had no one by his side tonight. The blond knew Genma was tired, noticing the dark circles under the other's eyes. He wasn't really sure what was keeping Genma up so late, but he didn't want the man to tire himself out.

Plus, even in his exhausted state, he had his ANBU squad to protect him and even then, he could still protect himself. He wasn't Hokage for nothing after all!

Feeling happy about that thought, he grinned and decided to take the scenic route back home. He walked slowly, enjoying the night sky. The air was warm, signaling that summer was on its way. As much as he enjoyed spring, summer was welcomed by him. Sure it was sometimes hotter than Sasuke's fireball jutsu, but he looked forward to spending time with his friends.

Chouji always hosted a barbecue party at the Akimichi household and everyone who attended always brought something. Naruto loved it when Hinata cooked something hearty and when Sakura brought paper lanterns that gave off a nice glow. Ino always brought the dinnerware, stating that she absolutely abhorred Naruto's blinding orange plates that clashed badly with the aquamarine napkins.

All the guys, including him, usually just brought over snacks like chips and cookies, a bit too lazy to do anymore. Sometimes he'd bring over a nice piece of steak though, a gift from a daimyo's daughter he rescued a few years ago or from a village he had unknowingly saved.

As he arrived in front of his house, he admired the place he called part of his home. Konoha _was_ his home, but this was where he could just relax and pretend he lived a normal life.

Until he remembered he left an important document at the Hokage Tower that was needed for a council meeting tomorrow. Then he had to shunshin his way to his office, find where he left it, and then return home tired with his eyes drooping from exhaustion.

He stopped as he tried to recall if he had an important document due tomorrow. His head felt slightly fuzzy, and he gave up with a sigh, not wanting to get a throbbing headache. _Screw it, I'm too tired to go back even if I do have something!_

Once inside, he threw his Hokage cloak haphazardly on his white couch and dragged himself to his bedroom on the second floor. He didn't think his body could stand up any longer.

Seeing his white and orange bed, he almost cried in relief. Actually, he couldn't tell if a tear slipped out or not, he just plopped down face-first, not caring to undress. So what if his clothes were going to be wrinkly, he was tired. He'd deal with it tomorrow.

Then he felt his bed shift and turning his head, he weakly glared at the other occupant in his bed. _His_ bed. "What are you doing in my bed?" He couldn't even bring himself to sound irritated, too tired to be using any more energy.

Genma raised an eyebrow and was about to smirk, but he noticed Naruto's tired eyes. So instead, he became fussy over his Hokage and completely ignored the question. "What time is it?"

Naruto huffed out before muttering, "About one now." He shouldn't have taken his sweet time walking back home. Dammit.

The brunet sighed at Naruto, no other man he worked with stayed this late for _paperwork_, in fact, most of them high-tailed it out as soon as the day was done. Naruto really did work too hard for Konoha. Once again, Genma thought the blond was very stupid, yet he was also very admirable.

Bringing a naked arm over to Naruto, he brought the other man closer to his bare chest, the bed sheet the only separation from Naruto's head being against Genma's chest.

Tired, Naruto barely resisted, only shuffling to get under his bed sheets. He knew Genma always slept half-naked, so he just ignored how his legs brushed against Genma's shinobi pants.

"You should at least take off your shirt as well," Genma added, trying to see if exhaustion would make the blond go through with his suggestion.

"Shut up," Naruto replied back tiredly, "I'm tired, let me sleep Genma-teme."

With a chuckle at the addition to his name, Genma made sure that he heard soft snores before bringing Naruto closer into his arms. Internally, he preened proudly as Naruto reciprocated his hug.

When the blond told him to go home first, he only shrugged, deciding that he'd surprise the blond with a feast-like dinner.

Then the blond didn't show up.

He was about to shunshin over to the Tower, drag Naruto to eat dinner with him, bathe with the idiotic fool he had a soft spot for, and then have his way with said fool in their bed.

The only reason Naruto still had his V-card was because of a timely shunshin from TenTen, a member of Naruto's ANBU squad. The young woman quickly told him about Naruto's efforts to better Konoha as a way to placate him.

It didn't work.

Then she threatened to gut him right there if he didn't let Naruto work in peace. The brunette didn't want her younger friend to be disrupted when he was so concentrated. Genma sat back down at the dinner table, a frown on his face when she pulled out a scroll with a menacing smile.

And so, Genma waited for the blond. He put away the dinner he made for later, took a shower, and began pacing around the living room. Ever since he became Naruto's bodyguard, he visited bars less often just because he was completely focused on trying to be a good "sensei" to Naruto. Although really, he just wanted to spend more time with his blond Hokage. When it was past eleven, he stopped pacing and went to bed, a new plot _lesson_, ready to test out.

Now that he had Naruto in his arms, _cuddling_ with him, Genma decided he could hold that lesson back. For a few days anyway.

His smug smirk was large enough anyway.

So, as Genma laid on his side, watching the blond softly snore, his other hand traced the highlighted cheekbones and pushed away the soft hair from the whiskered face.

He didn't dare to do any more than that though, fully aware that even if Naruto was sleeping, the Kyuubi inside of him probably wasn't.

Was it creepy he watched the young blond sleep?

Yes.

Would he be damned to the lowest level of Hell for his desires and thoughts?

Most likely.

Did he actually care about that?

Nope. Not one bit.

-To Be Continued-


	6. Memory 5: Genma's First Present

Memory 5: Genma's First Present to Naruto

When Sarutobi Manami answered the door to her shared apartment, she was not expecting the image of a frowning Genma. "Eto...how can I help you Genma-san?"

The brunet's frown didn't disappear, and he immediately went inside. Manami sighed but didn't kick him out. She was sure the older man must've needed something.

Setting down a tray of tea, she sat down across from the other man on her black couch. "So what's the problem?"

Genma looked over at her, frustration in his eyes. "Naruto's birthday is coming up."

Manami smiled and let out a small laugh. Her green eyes twinkled in delight. "Oh! What about it? I thought it was something serious!"

His eyes narrowed as he propped his hand on his knees. "It _is _serious. I need a favor from you."

Manami blinked a few times. "Hm?"

One Week Later

Naruto was sulking. Why? Simple—it was his birthday.

Now on any other occasion, he'd be jumping around at all of his friends celebrating with him, but now that he was Hokage, that meant he had to act fancy and proper. His azure eyes looked at the evening sky. _Ten more minutes, _he reminded himself, _Just ten more minutes then I can finally relax!_

He had, more or less, begged for his party to be held outside. The blond had enough of being cooped up in the Hokage Tower. With evening approaching, the park was lit up with orange paper lanterns hanging on trees. Tables had been set out and the scent of food hung in the air. This was supposed to be his private party after an entire day of celebrating with his citizens, but there were officials attending as well. They were such party-poopers as well, only talking to him to see if they'd be able to sway him on a topic.

He wanted to relax! Not work!

"Happy birthday Naru-chan!" The blond winced at the childhood nickname, but grinned as he was tightly embraced by his childhood friend, Subaku Asami. Her violet eyes shone with overwhelming happiness, and Naruto wondered if she missed all the greenery in Konoha. Cacti weren't the best plants to climb on or lean against after all.

"Asami-chan!" His eyes fell to the redhead behind her. "Gaara! You guys made it after all!"

The Kazekage smiled slightly and nodded. "Ah, it's good to see you again Naruto."

Asami stepped back to her husband's side with a bright smile. "It's been so long! I can't believe it's already autumn!" Her amethyst eyes fell to the other girls from Konoha. "Ah! I need to catch up with them," she smiled at the two and briefly kissed Gaara. Winking at him, she whispered, "Have fun and relax; I'll—_we'll_ be fine."

Naruto watched as his dark red-haired friend left in her light blue maternity gown. He glanced over at Gaara and mischievously grinned. With a nudge, he quickly started teasing his fellow Kage. "Hey, I didn't know you two were already that far! When's the due date?!"

Gaara cleared his throat and turned away, hiding a soft smile. "In six months."

The blond fondly looked over at the large group of cheerful people attending his birthday party. All of his friends and mentors were there, excluding those that had passed away, but he could still imagine what they'd be doing.

Neji would be glowering at anyone who dared to come near to Hinata or Hanabi, maybe TenTen would've lightly teased him. Jiraiya would be bothering Tsunade-baa-chan and drinking all the sake, but Naruto knew there would be a proud gleam in the old Toad Sage's eyes. Shikaku and Inoichi would both be talking with Choza, contemplating how their children are doing, the possibility of grandchildren, and how their wives are still ruling them with an iron fist. The Sandaime would be smiling as children crawled over him, but Naruto could see how the old shinobi would've pulled him aside and reminisce about Naruto's prankster childhood. Maybe Itachi would be talking with Sasuke or with Sakura's right-hand woman, Keiko? Naruto always had a feeling they would've gotten along well if they met. The blonde woman was understanding and compassionate, something Naruto thought Itachi would've appreciated.

Shaking his head to get out of his wishful thinking, he let out a sentimental sigh with a soft smile on his lips. "I still can't believe how fast time has passed. It's funny, but it's almost like yesterday we were all just genin trying to achieve our dreams." He paused and looked up at the sky, tilting his Hokage hat up. "And now, some of us have actually fulfilled our dreams... It's kind of...surreal."

"But this is reality, not a dream or illusion," Gaara added softly. "And we still have many more dreams left, Naruto."

Naruto chuckled at the fond expression on his friend's face as jade eyes studied his joyful wife. "I think you'll both be great parents." He shook his head as another thought came up. "I think we'll _all_ be great parents," he amended with a grin.

Gaara nodded, grateful for the trust and belief from the blond. "Thank you."

"Sure thing! Ah look, there's Temari-chan and Shika!" Gaara nodded again, excusing himself as he left to greet his older sister and brother-in-law. Naruto sighed and crossed his hands behind his head. Screw the rest of those ten minutes, it was his birthday party, and he was going to enjoy it!

Spotting Hinata, he waved cheerfully at her. She smiled and quickly walked up to him. "Hello Naruto-kun. Happy birthday!" A polite bow followed her greeting. Even if she had gotten rid of her stuttering, she still was polite.

"Hey Hinata-chan! Looking for Sasuke-teme?"

The dark-haired teen nodded with a soft smile. "Hai. He told me to talk with the other girls."

Naruto rolled his eyes and grinned. Since when had his best friend become considerate, and why wasn't he alerted of this great moment? "I bet he's brooding somewhere. Why don't you use your Byakugan?"

Hinata blushed partly in shame, the other embarrassment, and looked away. "He knows my range..."

Naruto shook his head, exasperated, but pointed behind him at the unlit forest. "Knowing him, I bet he's hiding over there. Check the highest spot." Hinata nodded gratefully, but before she left, he stopped her. "Thanks Hinata-chan. For looking out for the teme," he clarified. "Thanks for giving him a chance when no one else would."

He patted her shoulder, and she shook her head with a small smile. "Everyone deserves a chance Naruto-kun."

The blond Hokage grinned. "I'll let you go now. If you find him, make sure to tell him that he's getting his ass kicked for leaving you alone."

Hinata laughed with a soft confirmation before leaving. _The teme is lucky, but he doesn't even notice it does he? And he says _I'm _oblivious! _

"Naruto!"

His blue eyes widened at the approaching figure before he broke out in another thousand watt grin. "Kakashi-sensei!" He blinked as he noticed that his old Sensei was alone. "Where's Manami-chan?"

The silver-haired shinobi eye-smiled, but Naruto felt some frustration from the other man. "Helping someone out. She'll be a bit late."

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto had point out how she was starting to develop some of his bad habits. "You're rubbing off on Manami-chan way too much!" he accused playfully.

"Just like Genma is to you?" Kakashi airily asked.

"Huh?" What did his old sensei mean by that?

Kakashi didn't explain, _Like always_, Naruto added mentally in irritation. Instead he changed the subject. "Speaking of which, where's Genma? He's your bodyguard isn't he?"

Naruto shrugged. "I told him he's free to relax today. I think he's around here somewhere."

Kakashi hummed thoughtfully. "Then could you give this to him?" The older man reached into his pant's pocket and pulled out a white envelope.

"What?! But—"

"Are you saying you can't do it?" Kakashi interrupted with a raised eyebrow. "Surely it'd be simple to find someone you've been with 24/7, Naruto?"

The blond narrowed his eyes at the challenge. "Fine!" He swiped the envelope. "But I'll get you back for this!"

"Maa maa, no need to be so revved up when you should be relaxing! It's your birthday after all," Kakashi added as the blond stomped away, knowing Naruto would only be more irritated with his comment. Of course, this would be his own revenge towards Genma. _It's not nice to take my date away Genma, _he thought as he whipped out his infamous book, leaning against a red tree as he waited.

Naruto grumbled and pouted as he walked through the darkening forest. _Stupid Genma hiding... Where the heck is he?!_

Noticing another faint chakra signature, he stopped in irritation and scowled. "Alright, get out Genma. I know you're there!"

The brunet chuckled as he walked out of the shadows. "Looking for me?"

Naruto stuck out the letter and gave a deadpan look. "Kakashi-sensei told me to give you this."

Genma didn't move to take it. Instead, he stuffed his hands in his pant pockets. With a glance at the red and orange sky, he sighed. "Naruto, do you remember that day?"

The blond tilted his head at the sudden question. "What day?" When he met Genma during the Chuunin Exams? When he assigned Genma to be his bodyguard?

A low chuckle left Genma's lips, and he stepped closer to Naruto. "Tell me Naruto, do you remember what you said that one day?"

"What are you—"

"Have you fulfilled it yet?"

Naruto opened his mouth to retort that he didn't have a clue as to what Genma was talking about, but when he saw the serious gleam in the other man's eyes, nothing left his lips. It was surprising enough to make him drop the envelope.

"It was on a day like this and for an entire week, it was raining, but that day, it didn't rain." Genma looked up at the night sky again, the setting sun no longer peeking through the horizon. Slowly, stars were peeking out from the heavens. "It was cold, there was no sun at all."

Even Naruto could tell that Genma wasn't talking just about the weather. It was rare to see his bodyguard so serious and grim. Genma always had a lazy smile or smug smirk on unless he was fussing like a mother hen. Then he'd have a furrow between his brows and ask a thousand questions before being satisfied.

It was...strange. Naruto felt worried about Genma. He...he slightly missed the perverted brunet that always invaded his personal space. But, Naruto also felt somewhat honored as well. This was a new side of Genma, a side he had never seen before. Sometimes he forgot that Genma had troubles too. With those lazy smiles, Naruto had always thought Genma was happy and laid back.

Naruto felt sympathy for Genma, and he walked over to the man, closing the distance, and holding onto Genma's shoulder. "Genma I—"

Naruto was cut off by the abrupt sound of fireworks in the air, and his gaze fell over to the sky. The bright lights lit up the dark sky, reminding him it was his birthday. He couldn't hold in the large, grateful grin off his face.

"—Love—"

Naruto turned his head over to Genma. "Hm?" Genma opened his mouth again, but Naruto beat him to it. "Yeah I feel the same way too."

Genma stopped, his eyes wide with shock.

The young, blond Hokage grinned brightly, even brighter than the fireworks in the night sky. "The fireworks are great this year! I love the orange ones the best!"

For a few seconds, a silence fell between them and Naruto felt he had said something wrong. Then Genma smiled and looked up at the sky. "Yeah... The guys outdid themselves this year."

His voice was strained, and the smile looked too tense, but Naruto didn't notice underneath the loud display.

"Oi," Naruto looked over at Genma curiously, "Happy birthday, Naruto," Genma told him with a smile. Yet this smile was different. It was sweeter and yet also sad as well. It made Naruto wonder if Genma was perhaps mourning for the loss of someone the day Kurama was unsealed. The fact that it was directed straight at him only confused him more.

"Oi oi, it's my birthday, you gotta be happy too -ttebayo!" Naruto reached over to Genma's face with his hands and pulled his lips to resemble a grin, carefully making sure not to poke his hands with the other man's senbon. He laughed at the irritated look Genma gave him and let the older man's lips go, but his hands didn't move away. "Thanks Genma. This is a great spot for viewing the fireworks! I'll remember this present!"

Once more, Genma opened his mouth, trying to take the opportunity. "Naru—"

"Naruto! Where did you go?!"

The two stopped at the call, and Naruto gave an embarrassed grin as he let go of Genma who sighed in frustration. "Whoops, I forgot to tell everyone I went to find you." He rubbed the back of his head. "Better get going! I'm not letting Chouji call dibs on my cake!"

Genma watched as the blond left in a rush. He gave a bitter chuckle at his luck before turning to his side. "Sorry, I made you miss out for nothing."

Manami shook her head as she stepped out from the trees. "It's okay Genma-san. I found this," she handed over a rolled up scroll. "Did I get the right one?"

Genma nodded with a sigh. "Yeah, thanks again. You can go to where Kakashi is."

The brunette nodded, her one-sided ponytail flailing in the autumn wind. "Ah, just to let you know, I didn't see most of what happened, but with Naruto, everyone knows how dense he can be at times. I'm sure it'll reach him."

With a small smile, Genma sighed and switched his senbon to the other side of his mouth. "Ah, don't worry, Naruto's not the only stubborn one."

Manami nodded with an amused smile before leaving Genma. The man looked down at the scroll in his hand and frowned. He had a bad feeling, and it wasn't just because of how bad his romantic confession had gone.

Something was going to happen.

Something bad.

Very bad.

-To Be Continued-

AN: Hahaha, sorry-not-sorry Genma! And I'm so happy you all like this pairing! This is my first time writing a GenmaxNaruto story so I was worried if they're in character or not! Thanks for following and favoriting! Again, next update is this Friday the 17th!


	7. Memory 6: The Beginning of The End

Memory 6: The Beginning of the End

7:00 am

Naruto grumbled in frustration as he rubbed his eyes. A glance at the only clock in his office caused him to sigh. It was seven in the morning, and he still hasn't gone to sleep.

The paperwork surrounding him was a large factor, but another was the stress of incidents happening all over the shinobi nations. Where was that peace he and Sasuke worked so hard to attain?

Kusa had fires raging, the deadly flames claiming thousands of lives, dark and heavy smoke forcing people and animals to move away.

The Land of Tea was experiencing one of the worst droughts in decades, and Naruto had read many reports of the impending economic collapse.

Even Ame was having trouble with a mysterious serial killer that claimed lives of shinobi and civilians.

The blond just didn't understand how all of these troubles started. It wasn't just the smaller nations that were going through tough times, heck, even Konoha was starting to have problems as well. Mysterious deaths and kidnappings were occurring everywhere.

"You need a break, Naruto. You've been up for three days straight."

Naruto looked up at his bodyguard who looked just as tired as he felt. Throughout the past three days, Genma had been the one to remind him to eat or take a break for at least five minutes. Stubbornly, he shook his head. "Just let me finish this," he gestured at his newest stack of files. "I wanna get through Suna's pile of reports." He paused before quietly adding, "I'm worried about Gaara and Asami-chan..."

"Five minutes won't hurt anyone. You need to sleep," Genma stubbornly replied back, his mother hen side emerging once again.

Naruto scowled as he looked up from his papers. "I can rest later! The Council's not letting me go investigate, so I need to keep up with the reports to see what I can do!"

"You're going to work yourself to death." Genma's face darkened as he pushed himself away from the wall and walked over to Naruto. "You need to rest so that you'll be in better shape to react."

"I'm not a child anymore, Genma! I can make my own decisions! I'm your Hokage aren't I?!" Furious, Naruto stood up and clenched his hands into fists. His usually blue eyes that always lightened up with mischief were now dark in frustration and anger. Can't he be trusted to make some decisions of his own? Alright, so maybe he was shoving his frustration and anger on Genma unfairly since the man was only trying to help, but dammit—he wasn't the type to sit back and wait!

Genma looked unimpressed at Naruto's argument, but inside, it was a struggle to remain calm, not drag Naruto out of his seat and then forcefully taking the unreasonable brat home! Taking a deep breath, he stubbornly continued. "Then take a rest. You're not helping anyone by ignoring your needs."

"How can I sleep knowing that Gaara and Asami could be under attack? How can I eat peacefully if people are starving out there?! They're my friends Genma! The people I _swore_ to protect, and I _never_ go back on my words!"

"And so you'd rather work yourself to death?!" Genma yelled out in frustration. Couldn't the blond see he was only trying to help?! No one wanted to see someone they cared for missing days of sleep, stress piling in heaps on shoulders already full with burdens, and days where their precious person didn't smile or laugh!

Scowling, Naruto slammed his hand on his desk. "It's better than not trying at all!"

"You're not the only one trying to figure things out, Naruto!" Genma angrily replied. "Are you forgetting that you have advisors, the Council, and that Konoha's ANBU and her shinobi are all ready to do your bidding?! Stop trying to do everything by yourself! You've seen and you know how things happen when people do things without help! Your father tried to take—"

"Get out."

Genma stopped, surprised at Naruto's tone. The younger man's face was faced downwards at the paper-covered desk, hiding his eyes and any other hints Genma could use to define what the other felt.

The blond looked up, and Genma steeled himself, refusing to recoil at the fiery anger in those blue eyes. "Get out now!"

Genma's eyes narrowed at the blond before the myriad of conflicting emotions disappeared underneath a mask of apathy. He left without a word, a simple shunshin to a training ground where he knew he could cool off. He was pissed off, they both were, and he knew it'd be pointless to argue when they were both so stubborn.

Naruto's fists shook, his eyes now lowered to his desk again. What was Genma going to say about his father?! Goddammit, so what if he looked like his father?! He was himself, no one else! Not a perfect clone of his father or his mother! He needed space to think, to collect himself.

His eyes drifted to the clock once more. 7:15 am. With an angry sigh, he plopped back down into his chair and continued reading the reports from Suna. Adrenaline and testosterone were now pumping through his veins, and he decided to make use of the extra energy boost he received.

12:00 pm

Sakura sighed in relief as she sat down, the operation had been a success. To be honest, she was worried the patient was going to die of blood lost or an organ failure.

Her green eyes swept across her office, a similar scene to her blond friend's office in that papers were piled upon each other, almost creating a miniature city. The faded green couch was the only space open, but that was because she used it as a bed if she was lucky. These days, with all the strange incidents, her workload had increased to where she'd be lucky if she could sleep for more than four hours.

A soft knock on the door and a quick chakra signature check was all she needed to know that it was Keiko. The older blonde was a result from Orochimaru's experimentation with Tsunade's and Dan's DNA, a test tube baby to be less precise. However, the blonde was nothing like the Snake Sannin. While she had been taught how to fight from an early age, Keiko was a pacifist. That didn't mean that the golden-eyed woman couldn't protect herself though. At the age of 23, Keiko had shown Sakura plenty of times just how medical jutsus could be used to harm others.

"You can come in." Wow, did her voice really sound that tired? Her nose caught the faint whiff of lunch, and her stomach growled just as her eyes zoomed in on the delicious lunch of a chicken sandwich.

Keiko smiled softly, "Lunch?"

Sakura nodded quickly, how long has it been since she ate?! She readily grabbed the sandwich and bit into it, cherishing the juicy meat and fresh lettuce. With a bright smile, she motioned Keiko to sit. The blonde sat gracefully on the green couch and ate her lunch with a happy smile as well.

They chatted about their day like usual, Sakura adding how Lee had started to become more exuberant in his proclamations of love, Keiko with how Sai had been improving greatly with the Root operatives. Sakura had admired Keiko's ability to transfer chakra with emotions, something that greatly helped with Sai's progress. While the pink-haired medic could never see Sai hooking up with someone, she mused that he and Keiko had an unusual but strong friendship. Yet, she didn't think they'd ever become a couple.

There was something about Keiko that made her seem distant, almost like she saw something no one could see or hope to understand, maybe something to do with her upbringing as well? After all, she was raised by Orochimaru. Sakura wouldn't be too shocked if the man never gave her blonde friend more than the basic necessities. As for Sai...well that was pretty self-explanatory. Sai had only started to grasp the concept of friendship; romantic love was definitely not happening any time soon.

"Genma-san seems upset today," Keiko commented thoughtfully.

Sakura tilted her head. "Really? Why's that? Did he and Naruto fight?"

Keiko shook her head. "I'm not too sure what happened. He left before I could talk with him, but someone told me that Training Ground 27 needs to be cleaned up."

The Head Medic hummed thoughtfully. If Genma was mad about something, Naruto probably was as well. Her eyes glanced at the clock before resting on Keiko again.

Keiko nodded. "It's alright, you can go check up on him. I'll hold down the fort until you're back."

Smiling gratefully, Sakura nodded before using shunshin. Within seconds, she appeared outside of the Hokage Tower and walked in, fully intent on finding what happened. Naruto was a precious friend of hers, and she wanted to know if there was something she could do. The horrible events around the shinobi nations were tearing every bit of peace Naruto and Sasuke had strived to create, something she knew was weighing heavily on their shoulders.

She stopped when she reached Naruto's office, picking up a tray of food in front of the door as she entered. As soon as her emerald eyes saw the room, they narrowed dangerously. The room was filled with stagnant air, ramen cups were piled in a trash can, and the stacks of paper were nowhere near to being done. Her irritated gaze fell to the silent blond sitting pensively at his desk, and her gaze softened at the melancholy air around Naruto. She called out softly to him, and he sighed in response, but the sigh itself was tired, exhausted.

His eyebrows rose up in surprise when he noticed it was her. "Sakura-chan?"

She smiled in return and set down the tray of food in front of him. "And food as well," she added. "Eat up Naruto, it's already lunch time, and I bet you haven't eaten breakfast yet."

The blond shrugged, a small smile on his face. "I wasn't really hungry then."

"You better be hungry now," Sakura replied with a tense smile, the hidden threat reached her friend who quickly nodded before digging into the food.

Like earlier, she repeated the small talk but with Naruto. Apparently, the situation outside of Konoha is no better. Everyone's coming up with nothing as to the identity of what's causing the unrest. Simply put, there wasn't anyone to identify the enemy that was still alive. It was a distressing thing, not knowing how to save others.

When Naruto finished, he sighed happily as he pat his stomach. "Thanks for bringing me food, Sakura-chan!" he gratefully told her with a large grin.

Shaking her head, she replied, "I only brought it to you. Someone else left it out there." A silence filled the air with the name of the person they both knew had set the tray outside.

Naruto frowned as he studied the tray. Of course Genma would choose a traditional meal that included all of the nutrients he skipped out on this morning. He leaned over his desk, pushing the tray away as his head laid on the little empty space he had on the desk. His argument with Genma was still repeating in his mind.

What if's filled his thoughts, interrupting him about how to handle this situation. This wasn't the first time he had a fight with Genma, but those fights were nothing compared to this one. Those were over simple things: what to eat, what to wear to bed, which side someone got in the bed, and what time to leave.

His gaze traveled to Sakura who was waiting patiently for him. He sighed and looked away again. "I had a fight with Genma." She nodded, encouraging him to continue. "The stupid Council's not letting me out of Konoha, so I can't go see for myself what's happening, and I have to rely on reports instead. I've been reading these reports for—" he paused, wondering if he should lie to Sakura. In the end, he went with the truth, he'd get an uppercut for lying or telling the truth, so it was a lose-lose situation either way. "—Three days without stop. I took breaks though!" he shouted out as the air around Sakura grew foreboding.

He sighed as she backed down and ran a hand through his messy hair. "I... Genma, he..." Damn, how does he start this? "We just didn't agree on me taking a break or not. I need to know what's happening in Suna! Gaara, Asami-chan, and Karura-chan are all there! I can't just leave my friends and my new goddaughter in danger! I promised I'd protect my precious people didn't I?!"

The image of the happy parents asking him to be their daughter's godfather drifted to his mind. The two redheads looked so happy holding a healthy baby girl with violet eyes and fiery locks. Naruto still remembers his chest swelling up at the request. He's never been given such an honor before but to know that they trusted him so much... He felt like the luckiest person alive.

Naruto shifted in his seat as his gaze lowered. "Genma told me to take a break so that I'd be more helpful. I know he's got good intentions, but I can't just leave my friends alone! I know I have people I can trust, people I know that will do the job, but _I_ want to help too... Then...then he started talking about how people can't take heavy burdens by themselves, and I _know_ that, I really do! Itachi told me the same thing! But I...I'm not my father... I just want to help. I finally achieved my dream of becoming Hokage, but now instead directly protecting my friends, I have to do it through laws, giving out missions, and secrets I have to keep..."

Sakura sighed. It really was amazing how something so small snowballed into such a heated argument. She had a feeling both sides understand each other's reasoning, but they just didn't know it or were too stubborn.

"Let me just say that you both aren't right or wrong, Naruto. You're right, it's important to protect your friends, but Genma-san's right too. You can't forget that your friends can protect themselves as well. Gaara-san is the Kazekage, Asami-chan has an amazing kekkei genkai, and they'd do anything to protect little Karura-chan. You don't have as much direct, face-to-face interaction as Hokage, but now you've got the power to prevent horrible things from happening. Isn't it better to act out and change something instead of reacting after a change?"

Naruto sighed, and leaned against his propped up hands. "I screwed up didn't I?"

"You _both_ screwed up, if that makes you feel any better," Sakura added with a small, amused smile. "There's something else you both need to address, but I'll let you two figure that out. Take care alright? And don't forget to take care of yourself! I'll drag you to your bed or the hospital if you don't—Hokage or not—Uzumaki Naruto!"

8:00 pm

It was awkward.

Really, really awkward.

Why did Genma have to shunshin the same time he did to the their house?

But before Naruto could shunshin away, he noticed the scratches, bruises, and exhaustion radiating off of his bodyguard. In a way, Genma looked just as horrible as he did. Naruto knew he was smelly, had large dark circles that could've rivaled Gaara's, and felt just as tired from so little sleep.

He wanted to joke, saying that they both look terrible, how they were both right and wrong, and how he knows Genma didn't mean to compare Naruto to Minato. But when he opened his mouth, he didn't even get one word out before Genma walked away.

To say Naruto was hurt was an understatement. His chest burned and ached with a foreign emotion. Both of his hands clenched together, creating fists which shook. Gathering himself, his determination strengthened. "Oi! Gen-"

"Hokage-sama!"

Naruto's voice stopped as an ANBU member appeared, kneeling in front of him. The man carried a somber air, instantly putting Naruto on guard. His gaze fell to where Genma had been, keyword _been_. The man was no where in sight now. "Kuma? What's-"

"Suna has fallen."

10:00 pm

Genma was in bed. Alone. He mentally swore, kicked off the bedsheets, grabbed his signature senbon, and followed the only other chakra signature in the house. When he had appeared at the same time as Naruto at their home, he used shunshin immediately to Training Ground 27 again. He released his frustrations _trained_ for another two hours, arriving home an hour ago, tired and sore, to complete darkness. He figured Naruto didn't want to be around him. He didn't feel completely prepared to talk with the blond again, still licking his wounds in figurative way. Even if he was already in his early thirties, rejection still stings. Especially after his pride and abilities have been built up.

He stopped when he reached the first floor, stopping at the end of the wooden stairs. The house was unusually quiet despite the fact that one of Konoha's most unpredictable ninjas with a prankster background was home. Then again, Naruto was _unpredictable_.

Genma walked across the dark living room, silently of course, past the dining room with the wooden table fit for four and stopped there, looking out the glass doors to the backyard. In the darkness of the night, Naruto's blond hair was softly highlighted by the full moon, a nostalgic sight to Genma. Then he noticed that the young Hokage's shoulders were hunched over and shaking slightly. That's when Genma realized something was truly, honestly wrong.

Naruto was...crying.

And Genma hadn't been there to help lessen the blow.

The older man's mind reeled in shock at the rare image. Naruto rarely cried, but that could be from the blond crying when no one was there to see. Genma may have been with him for a few years in Naruto's early life, but after that... Well Genma wasn't too sure aside from what he heard. There was one thing that he was sure about though, the sight of the vibrant, radiant blond in tears yanked at his chest.

Guilt flooded him, he shouldn't have left. He should've stayed.

So he did the one thing he knew he could do to make up for his mistake.

Opening the glass door to the back porch, he sat next to the blond and wrapped his left arm around the shorter man's shoulder. He didn't say anything, not even when Naruto tensed up at first, and not a sound left him when Naruto leaned in.

"They're dead, Genma..." Naruto didn't move away from Genma as he broke the silence. His voice was soft, tired, and weary. "Asami-chan and Karura-chan were killed in front of Gaara. He killed the enemies and died in the process. Suna...Suna is gone now."

He took in a deep, shuddering breath before a self-deprecating laugh left him. "And the worst part is, I feel useless. So. Damn. Useless. While Suna was under attack, I was eating lunch with Sakura-chan. When I went to a meeting with Shika, Asami-chan and Karura-chan were killed. When the sun started to set, Gaara buried Suna in sand after the only survivors escaped, burying his precious family and his beloved village with him."

"I..." His voice broke, "I couldn't protect any of them in the end, Genma. People look up to me, admire me for what I've done, but how can I look at myself knowing I let my friends and goddaughter die?"

Genma didn't know what to say. With a soft sigh, his left hand combed through blond locks, ruffling them as a form of comfort. Turning his head, his dark eyes met blue orbs red with tears, and his lips curled into a bitter smile that was closer to a grimace as he made sure his senbon wouldn't poke Naruto by accident.

"Honestly, I don't really know myself," Genma admitted. "I've lost friends, both young and old, but even _I'm_ still not completely sure what I can do to redeem myself. What I _can_ tell you, is that I try to move on, live and grow so that I don't lose anyone else. Years ago, I lost someone...someone who meant everything to me at that time. But then I found something that changed everything. What I've found is that _I'm_ the one who can help myself. If I don't choose to get help, there's not much that can help me personally."

Silence followed after that. With just the two of them, and the ANBU bodyguards at a respectful distance, Genma knew fully well that if he leaned in closer, just a little bit more than the length of a sakura petal, their lips would meet. But he controlled himself, not because he was a saint, but because he didn't want to take advantage of Naruto. Instead, he leaned back and with one last hair ruffle, let go of Naruto. Genma's hands intertwined with each other, making sure he wouldn't do something he'd regret.

"Hey Genma?" The other man hummed in response, turning his head to the blond next to him again. Naruto attempted a small smile and rubbed his eyes dry; the smile wasn't as bright as it normally was, but he was trying. "Thanks, and um, sorry about earlier..."

Naruto looked away, ashamed and embarrassed. "I shouldn't have blown up at you. I...I don't think it'll be easy trying to move on, but I can't sit and be depressed the entire time right?" He took a deep breath, steadying himself. "I gotta find out who did this to Suna before the same thing happens to Konoha."

He wouldn't let the murderers of his best friends go without being unpunished.

Genma nodded. "Ah, I'll do what I can." Stretching he yawned and switched the senbon in his mouth. "Let's go to bed, Naruto. We're probably going to need to wake up early right?"

Nodding, Naruto stood up, a somber air still surrounding him, but his usual confidence was somewhat restored. "Yeah, the second one will be at four in the morning, the Council wanted to get talking about our best steps ASAP, and for once, I agree with them."

The first meeting had lasted for two hours, and it was dismissed so that more information from the survivors could be retrieved. Naruto had a feeling the second meeting was going to last the entire day tomorrow. Suna was an important ally to Konoha, and no one wanted to go down too.

Genma turned to go, but stopped when he realized Naruto wasn't following him. Calling out to the blond, he witnessed a sad, thoughtful smile as Naruto looked up at the night sky. "Did you know," the blond started out softly, "Those two always liked watching the stars—said it made them feel less lonely and reminded them of good memories."

"We can keep the window curtains tied tonight," Genma suggested, trying to help his young Hokage. "Come on, Naruto." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his dark pants and navigated back through the dark house.

With one last look at the night sky covered with stars and a full moon, Naruto tilted his head as a small stream of images entered his mind. A full moon, the shadow of a crouching figure on a roof, and then the cold wind rustling through brown hair. It didn't make much sense, but he got that there was a promise that was made. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he took a deep breath and followed after Genma.

12:00 am

Naruto was asleep. Genma shifted to his side, watching the blond sleep with an occasional twitch every now and then, sometimes tears traveled from the closed eyelids. His dark eyes drifted to the sealed drawer next to their shared bed. It was a miracle he still remembered where and what the Yondaime had done with that scroll. Manami was a blessing sent from the gods. Only a seal mistress like her could ever hope to understand the seals used by the Yondaime. He just hoped Naruto could figure it out with help.

Genma let his hand lightly drift across Naruto's face, wiping away any tear trails, grateful for his trust in him. Any other trained shinobi would've either killed or maimed him by now. His gaze fell to the window, the stars and moon still visible from the heavens. What could the destruction of Suna have in tow for Konoha? But more worrying, what will happen to Naruto? What would he do without the lively blond?

Silently, he hopes he never will have to find out.

-To Be Continued-

AN: And so the mood changes! Next update is the 20th of April! Thanks for following and favoriting this! Hopefully, next time I can tug on some heartstrings! Maybe bring tissues?


	8. Memory 7: One More Time, One More Chance

Memory 7: One More Time, One More Chance

He could feel it, the end was coming. Naruto wasn't a seer, but he didn't need to be. All of the strongest nations were wiped off the map, smaller nations following.

Now it was Konoha's turn.

Everyone could feel the end coming. His beloved village was already falling into pieces.

ANBU had caught the serial killers far too late, and the fear clouded people's thoughts, grief and anger making his beloved citizens irrational. There were many parents who had to see their healthy children go to the afterlife first, something that made Naruto's heart clench.

With the collapse of her allies, Konoha was running out of supplies fast. Ration stamps were handed out to everyone, no matter what position they held. Shikamaru couldn't smoke anymore, cigarettes were a rare commodity. The Akimichi were already starting to lose weight even though their techniques depended on their large mass. The thought of that clan brought forth the memories of Chouji's funeral and Ino's body-wracking sobs. Why was Chouji so damn kind? Naruto felt crushing despair knowing that Chouji fought to the end, protecting his genin squad with his life while they ran back to Konoha. Chouji had been strong and kind, and it hurt so much to lose another friend who didn't deserve to die.

The small comfort Naruto had was knowing was that he had kicked ass and took names. No one, not even the Council could stop him from fighting anymore. No one could identify the shinobi attacking the entire continent, something that irked Naruto to no end. How was it possible for no one—_no one_—to identify so many men and women?!

Simple answer? By making sure not a single witness survived. Whoever was responsible for the death of millions didn't have mercy in their vocabulary.

That's why Naruto knew his enemies were so dangerous.

That's why he was constantly in meetings, trying to strategize with Shikamaru and Sasuke on what to do next, Hinata occasionally adding a helpful idea.

It's why he always made sure to read the hospital reports from Sakura and Keiko to see how many casualties occurred.

He had seeked out help from Manami to understand a scroll he found inside a secret compartment of his desk. It was a mysterious scroll, left behind unfinished by his father.

He had found it on the day after Suna had disappeared off the map, but he had no idea of what he needed to do to complete the complex scroll. Manami, thank the gods for her, had walked in after he had stared at it for hours and made a small suggestion. After a few hours, they figured it had something to do with time and second chances, but they both couldn't make much out of all the new symbols used.

Honestly, he was happy she was starting to get out of her apartment now. Grief hadn't disappeared from her green eyes, and her voice was soft from crying out a name that would never answer her desperate calls. She didn't deserve to lose Kakashi so cruelly on the day of their wedding. No one deserves that kind of cruelty.

Standing next to her as the world fell apart, he was grateful she was strong. In fact, all of his friends were strong, so, _so_ strong it hurt to know that they were all fighting demons inside, that they all went to bed with images of the dead in their minds.

Shikamaru would never get to experience living with his daughter or receive an embrace from Temari.

Manami would never be able to kiss Kakashi as he hugged her from behind when she cooked; she could only stare blankly at the man's gravestone.

Hinata could never get the image of her sister's broken body out of her mind, and she'd never be able to show Neji or her father how strong she's grown.

Sasuke was constantly haunted by the memories of his dead clan, and Naruto knew his best friend feared losing anyone else close to him.

As for himself, Naruto barely slept nowadays. He had lost so many friends. Too many friends had lost their lives trying to protect their loved ones. So many died trying to protect _him_.

As another explosion went off in the market district, Naruto panted hard as he frantically grabbed another civilian from a collapsing wooden beam. It was just as Shikamaru had predicted, the enemy was striking Konoha with no mercy today, starting even if the sun was still hiding below the horizon.

"Hokage-sama!"

Naruto's eyes followed the cry and narrowed, the natural air of command falling around him as ANBU member Usagi jumped over to his location, taking the sobbing woman off his hands. "Take the civilian to safety, then proceed with the attack formation," Naruto ordered, his face grim but determined.

The masked woman nodded and lifting the civilian, left in a spiral of leaves. Naruto continued onwards, intercepting a masked enemy shinobi from attacking a wailing boy who held his sister's limp body. With a rasengan, the enemy was killed, and a shadow clone took the boy away.

"Naruto!"

"Ino!" His eyes widened as the other blonde landed next to him.

Gone was the teen who enjoyed gossiping and fretting over how bad her complexion had gone. The woman he saw was battle-hardened. "I'm going to send out the order for civilians to evacuate."

He nodded. "Ah, thanks, Ino." Once again, his friend was so strong despite losing Chouji just a week ago.

She gave him a smirk and a hand went on her right hip. "No problem! Now go and save the day!"

He didn't need to be told twice.

Jumping away and into the air, his hands came up to his signature move. Within seconds, the air was filled with bunshin. Each moved out to a different section of Konoha and the original moved to fight with the largest threat.

xXx

Genma swore as he dodged an attack, shooting the senbon in his mouth to deflect another shinobi's kunai.

_Where the hell is Naruto?! _He needed to find his blond Hokage. He was his bodyguard and he definitely wasn't going to let the blond die. Not on his watch. Not like he let the Yondaime die. Not like he let his girlfriend die.

If Genma hadn't been so experienced, he would've been shocked at the attacks on Konoha. First it started with dangerous missions in the Fire Country that ended with multiple deaths of some of Konoha's strongest, greatly dropping morale. Then with other nations falling, Konoha had to be more reliant on itself. While the hidden village did have emergency greenhouses, it wouldn't last forever.

Finally, the murderers had destroyed the lives of so many couples hoping to settle down. Both civilians and shinobi had been unhappy, somber, tense, and stressed.

He thanked Sasuke and Hinata who finished off the three enemies around him while he distracted them.

"Where's Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked worriedly, her kindness still strong in times of despair. He wondered if she was still haunted with the death of her sister and father. Knowing her, she was but held in the pain and overwhelming grief.

"We were separated when the explosion set off in the Tower," Genma explained with a dark expression. How could anyone have gotten so close to the heart of Konoha without being noticed?

"Then that's the fifth place." Sasuke's frown deepened as he crossed his arms. His gaze narrowed at the dead bodies around them. It was their fault so many people died. Noticing a slight finger twitch in a man clad in black with horrible burns covering his body, Sasuke aimed a kunai at the back of the man's head.

Battle-hardened, Hinata did little than turning away as the body spasmed once before lying limp. She clarified Sasuke's earlier comment for Genma with a forlorn gaze, naming the places bombed. "The Academy for civilians and shinobi, the library, the market district, and now the Tower."

"They're trying to hit where it hurts then," Genma concluded. "Get rid of the schools to lower the chance of any kids learning something new while lowering morale if children were inside. Destroy the library to stop from any information gathering, and demolish the markets to get rid of supplies. The Tower's destruction will either get rid of the Naruto if they're lucky or lower morale."

"Why'd you come here?" Sasuke asked, "Obviously the dobe's going to save civilians and deal with the enemy, not stay in the Tower."

Genma nodded as he brought another senbon to his lips. "I know, but Naruto needed something from the Tower that he forgot." He didn't go any further just in case someone else was around. "I'll head out to the residential area, he might be there, or I can try and talk to his bunshin."

"We'll be heading towards the markets then," Sasuke added, mentally checking off another place the enemy had visited.

Hinata nodded before she looked at Genma firmly. "Please don't let Naruto-kun die, Genma-san. If anyone can fix this, it's him."

The brunet huffed a silent laugh as he turned around. "Ah, I got it. I've still got something to tell him after all." With that, the older man jumped away from the rubble of the Hokage Tower and the other two jonin left as well, each with a mission.

xXx

Naruto scowled as another woman clad in black with a plain white mask covering her face appeared. It was a sea of never-ending fights. Just like when he first fought these men and women, he noticed how odd they fought. It was with absolutely no regard for their own safety.

As though they felt no pain or concern.

Like they were dead.

He almost shivered. No, there was no way someone was reanimating the dead again. He'd already gone through that, and while he did have a solution, for someone to do something like that—it was too cruel.

With a grunt, he kicked away the woman, throwing an explosive kunai straight at her forehead. He activated it before she could remove it, but a part of him wondered grimly if she would've still pulled out the weapon, bleeding to death and not doing anything to stop the bleeding. Outwardly, he moved on to the next enemy, but inside he felt horrible for killing the woman. She must've had a spouse somewhere if he went by the wedding ring on her left hand.

What a horrible time this was. This shouldn't be happening. Naruto grimaced as he dodged a suicide explosion, turning away from the morbid scene of body parts falling down in red rain. He hoped Ino had been able to evacuate civilians. They were unused to the horror of battles, raised up to do jobs that could benefit shinobi or the Land of Fire. He'd rather not send their minds into a mental state of torture.

He paused as a clone's memory was sent to him. His brows narrowed at the new information. Alright, so whoever the leader was, definitely wasn't in Konoha. Dammit. Dammit it all! His fists tightened in frustration, where was the leader hiding?! How could they escape every spy, every shinobi?! How could they slip under his nose?!

Naruto shook with anger, his glare falling on more approaching enemies. He wouldn't let Konoha fall, he refused to let anyone else die! He was the Rokudaime Hokage and no matter what, he'd go down first before Konoha did.

xXx

_That was too close!_ Genma thought, barely dodging the horizontal slice of a katana before parrying another kenjutsu user to his right with a kunai. Even if his kunai was smaller, he could easily deflect those attacks. He thanked his ANBU training and his squad leader who worked him to his bones. He wouldn't have lived long without all those bruises, scrapes, and hospital stays.

He followed up by grabbing the stunned enemy to his right, throwing the man in black clothing to the katana user. His eyebrows rose as the katana user didn't even evade the thrown comrade—no that wasn't right.

Genma was shocked as the katana user simply cut through the thrown body. There wasn't any camaraderie. There wasn't even any words exchanged, yet all the men and women in black clothing could attack with coordination.

Something wasn't right. Were they being controlled? Were they dead puppets like in the Fourth Shinobi War?

His peripheral vision found blond hair and a glowing orange cloak. His chest soared with hope and affection. Damn he missed Naruto.

_Left!_ His instincts warned him, and automatically he jumped out of the way. Now he was twenty meters away from the blond! Dammit!

_Fifteen, _his mind quickly supplied him. He swore. This wasn't good. All behind him were enemies, each with varying skills. Behind him, he could hear battle cries from Naruto. He wouldn't let these cold murderers near the sun of Konoha.

Offhandedly, he mused that it was only Naruto that could bring such a warm, yet fierce flame in his chest. Only those earnest blue eyes could kindle affection in Genma. Only thousand-watt grins could brighten up his day. Without Naruto, there was no fire, no kindness, no joy—there was nothing without him.

His eyes narrowed at his opponents, and unknowingly, his killing intent spiked. While there wasn't any nervous shaking from his enemies or puking out of fear, it alerted a fellow shinobi who's heart he desired.

xXx

Kurama's cloak was always a warm, comforting thing to Naruto. His bright orange eyes glowed as he took in the sight in front of him. All around Konoha, shinobi and kuniochi were fighting bravely. It was a small comfort to the daunting scene.

Using his cloak he could easily pinpoint enemies and allies. Sending out more cloaked clones, he focused on eliminating the men and women attacking Konoha. His gaze focused on the sun in the sky. Three hours had passed since the first attack. From his clones, he knew that Sakura and Keiko had the hospital flowing with staff and volunteers. So far, his own shinobi and kuniochi were handling this invasion fairly well, a majority of casualties being the enemy.

Sasuke and Hinata were both working side-by-side, clearing out the market area with ease. Manami and Shikamaru were thankfully backing up another group of jonin in the northern residential area. Naruto knew his own ANBU were around him, funneling the men and women to make it easier for him. To his left, TenTen unrolled her scrolls, kunai shooting out with a deadly staccato. Lee's roundhouse kick sent a burly man in black to Sai's ink jutsu, the painted dogs ripping the man apart.

Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino were defending the west wall where an explosion had gone off. A group of chuunin followed them bravely.

His mind shifted gears at Rooster's gasp of pain, doubling over as his shoulder was impaled with a ninjato. Naruto mentally swore before covering for his ANBU guard, blocking an incoming wind jutsu. He looked over his shoulder, "Can you get to the hospital?"

The man shook his head, trying to cover the wound as best as he could while avoiding the weapon. He couldn't waste his chakra on healing himself, he needed it to protect his Hokage! Yet, he knew he needed to live in order to protect the Hero of Konoha. Before his Hokage could ask his squad leader for help, Rooster yanked out the ninjato, fiercly refusing to make a sound of pain, and his palm glowed green. Finishing up with the badly done healing that would suffice for now, he moved on to the next enemy, using the ninjato as his weapon.

Naruto wanted to berate the older man for being so careless, but he knew that no one wanted to be helpless.

Suddenly, like he had been struck with Sasuke's kirin, the hairs on the back of his neck rose. _Something bad's about to happen,_ he realized with a mix of apprehension and frustation.

That was four hours ago.

"Dammit! How the hell are they still coming?!" Naruto yelled out, while Kurama shifted unsteadily in his host's mind. For now, he was confined to Naruto's mind, not wanting to destroy Konoha with his large form. It was almost disturbing how Naruto had affected him so much, yet he didn't mind the change.

"**Your men and women are getting tired Naruto," **Kurama warned the blond.

Naruto gritted his teeth. _I know, _he answered, sending a rasengan into a woman's stomach. _Ino and Shika should be working to order some to the hospital. I know I sent a clone to find Ino._

"**And what about your bodyguard and new sensei?"**

"What about him?" Naruto answered aloud, tired of speaking through his mind. He needed to focus on the prolonged fight. He threw a rasenshuriken in front of him. There was almost enough room for Kurama to join the fight now, as conflicted as he felt. Even with Yamato's Wood Release, it would take time to rebuild Konoha again.

Huffing Kurama expanded on his question. "**You haven't seen him for four hours. None of the clones made contact with him either."**

"His chakra signature's still here!" Naruto yelled out, refusing to believe Genma was dead. He lashed out with a kick combination with a clone in Sage Mode, permanently knocking down ten enemies. There was no way Genma would die so easily! But he worried about the brunet now that Kurama pointed out that none of his clones had reported back about Genma's whereabouts.

He shook his head. He needed to have faith in Genma like the man trusted him. Naruto would fight for Konoha, that was his job! Yet, Genma's signature was strange as well. It fluctuated violently. Why hadn't any of his clones gone to Genma?! He swore as another explosion destroyed a section of Konoha.

At times like this, he knew he had to trust his own shinobi and kunoichi to do their jobs, just like with missions, but he wasn't sitting in his office anymore. He was out on the battlefield, fighting for the life of his people, for the life of Konoha. His orange gaze shifted to Yamato, the Wood Release user was creating something like a miniature forest. "Yamato-taicho!" he called out, using the title more out of habit than anything reallly. "I-"

"Go ahead, Naruto-sama!" Yamato called back, wiping sweat from his forehead as he flipped away from a line of kunai. "Go! Your clones and I will handle things from here!"

The blond sent him a grateful grin before he let Kurama out of his mind just in case, and then shoot off to find Genma. He knew Kurama would do his best to fight for him. However, he couldn't let his personal feelings get in the way as Hokage. Every battle he came across, he stopped to briefly help, encouraging his fighters to keep going. The men and women, his friends and comrades, all sent him thankful looks, eyes briefly softening before hardening as they turned their attention back to the enemy.

He paused on top of the Kamishiro household's roof, surveying the damage of the eastern residential. His brows furrowed at the damage to multiple houses. The Kamishiro were lucky their house was still standing. Almost entire blocks of houses were destroyed, furniture clearly showing through houses that lost an entire wall.

Genma's chakra signature was thirty meters north. Just what was that man doing in the playground?!

He jumped off the roof, traversing that distance in less than five seconds. His chest tightened at the destruction around him. It was worse than Pein's Invasion. Much worse. The farther north he got, the more the destruction spread. Blood and bodies were splattered around the ground, covering the fresh air of Konoha with death's favorite scent.

His blue eyes widened as he stopped in front of the playground. There was so much blood. So many dead bodies, none he actually recognized. For a place of golden happiness, this had suddenly turned into a morbid graveyard.

Searching for Genma wasn't too hard, the man was silently sitting against a tree, almost as though he were studying the scene in front of him. Naruto briefly worried if he had been too slow when Genma's gaze shifted to him. Wryly, the blond noted that Genma still had a senbon in his mouth. "Genma? What the-"

Naruto stopped as Genma gestured at him with his right hand, his left hand set on his propped up his knee. Something didn't feel right, and Naruto felt a strange sense of grief settle upon him. There was no one around that warranted a danger, but a shiver ran up his back. Seeing the hesitation, Genma sighed and smiled lightly. "Are you going to come here after all this time or not? Surely you didn't just come here to take a walk through Konoha, Naruto."

Miffed, Naruto huffed, crossed his arms as he walked over and crouched in front of Genma before pulling the man up. His nose tingled at all the blood around them. His brows furrowed. "What are you doing all the way here? Why the heck didn't you make contact with one of my clones?!" he exploded, the anxious part of him was slowly taking over.

Genma let the questions roll off, his eyes never leaving Naruto's face. "Would you believe me if I said I wanted to see you only?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "They _are_ me, Genma."

He shook his head. "No, Naruto," he replied softly. "They're nothing compared to you."

"Hah?!" Naruto couldn't believe this, was Genma seriously doing this? In the middle of an invasion?! "Genma-"

He was cut off at the smile sent to him. It was a gentle sight, the way Genma's lips turned up so slightly, his brown eyes curving with something akin to happiness and tinted with sadness. It tugged at Naruto's chest. Why was it sad?

Genma sighed, his eyes closing as a small chuckle left his lips as he angled his senbon away from Naruto. "Your zipper's down."

"What?! How come no one said anything?!" Naruto immediately looked down, but stopped as as Genma leaned forward, bumping his forehead against Naruto's. The blond was too confused to move away and aware that Genma must've had some sort of reason for his actions. "Genma?" he asked, his eyes looking up at the man.

The other man hummed in response, eyes opening once more. Naruto almost jerked back when a rough, calloused hand cradled his cheek, but forced himself to not move, to look only at Genma. "This world is unfair isn't it?" the jonin asked, a bitter smile on his face. "Just as soon as everyone's settling down, the world decides to destroy all our hard work."

"Doesn't mean we can't keep trying," Naruto replied softly, his eyes shining with determination. "As long as I'm Hokage, I'm not giving up even if I'm going against the world."

"Better to give up on you giving up right?" Genma asked in amusement.

Naruto grinned, laughing lightly. "Damn straight!"

"Good," Genma replied, moving his bloody left hand to Naruto's shoulder.

_Wait! What?_ Naruto noticed the sticky wetness of his cheek as Genma's hand left it. It wasn't sweat that was matting Genma's hair either. Sweat wasn't vermillion. His gaze traveled down and stopped. How did he not notice it. "Ge-"

"I know," Genma whispered comfortingly. "I know."

Like that would fix anything! Naruto's orange glowing eyes narrowed at Genma. "Why didn't you go to the hospital?!"

Genma huffed, wincing slightly as he forced a lazy smile. "I needed to find you first."

It was as though he had been blasted with cold air from the Land of Iron. Genma was looking for him the entire time? For the past _four _hours?

Naruto felt even more guilty as Genma began swaying slightly, something Naruto didn't even want to think about splattered on the green grass, painting it crimson. "Let me heal you," he quickly replied, panic slowly starting to settle in. "I'm not Sakura-chan or Keiko-chan, but I can still heal with Kurama's chakra."

He didn't wait for a reply, he just quickly transferred his chakra, hoping that the cloak would help his bodyguard live. He didn't expect Genma to cry out in pain at the transfer, and he stopped, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. That wasn't right, the transfer shouldn't have hurt!

"G-Genma." Shit, he didn't know what to do. Even if he could carry Genma all the way to the hospital, he doubted the man would survive at this rate. He felt like a little kid again. A stupid, reckless brat who couldn't earn the respect from anyone, who wasn't even acknowledged for being alive.

The older man reached into his flak jacket, his breathing uneven. He pulled out a familiar scroll and sent a weak smile, a smile that was a poor copy of Genma's true smile. "I think you forgot this."

There, Naruto understood the situation and damned himself even more. It was his fault for fogetting about that scroll in his desk. It was that scroll's fault Genma was—that Genma had a hole in his stomach. It was _his _stupid fault that Genma was bleeding to death and that the chakra transfer had made the wound worse instead of healing it.

"Why? Why would you do this?!" Naruto knew very well that Genma wouldn't be bleeding so heavily if the man had decided to live his life like any other jonin. His eyes stung as Genma's strained breathing filled the air. No. No dammit. It wasn't supposed to be like this! Genma can't die.

"Naruto, look at me," Genma ordered, his grip tightening. The blond met his eyes again, and Genma brought his other hand, the hand trying to suppress the blood and tried to use his chakra to heal the wound with whatever he had left, to Naruto's chin. He marveled at how the blond still didn't have any facial hair. The young blond had such smooth skin, Genma was sure women all around the shinobi nations were jealous.

He grimaced as his wound slowly ripped, blood flowling freely again. "Naruto, I would do anything for you. Not because you're my Hokage, but because I want to. For you," he paused, his body swaying, and he fell on Naruto who was quick to support him, but they dropped to their knees.

"For you," he tried again. Shit, his vision was fading into black. But he couldn't go, he couldn't go yet. "For you..." He felt his senbon drop to the ground. Was he already losing control?

His gaze tried to find those orbs that reflected the sky like a mirror, but things were fading in and out. He perservered though, and when he felt drops of something warm, something like sunlight fall down his cheeks, he instantly knew where to look. Up, because he was laying in Naruto's arms, just like he wanted in any other circumstance. His right hand traveled to wipe away the tears streaming down Naruto's face. "For you, I'd do anything because..."

And he smiled gently like everything was okay.

Like he was just taking a nap.

Like his eyes were going to open again once they closed.

Naruto didn't stop his tears, the wrangled sobs, or his hand trying to catch Genma's when the other's hand began slipping away. His other hand clutched tightly onto the scroll Genma gave his life to give to Naruto. The scroll that held the solution to this cruel, heartless world.

As Naruto held unto the cooling body of the man who gave his life for a second chance, his own body shaking in horror, in lament, and in a despairing spiral of pain, silently, Naruto made a promise. He'd never give up, he'd fight until he could no longer fight. He wouldn't use Genma's last gift on a whim. He'd make it count, make sure that if there was a way for more time, for one more chance, he'd take it without hesitation—even if it costs him his life.

What a cruel world he lived in.

-To Be Continued-

AN: Does it hurt? If it does—great! That means I did my job! To be honest, I wrote this as the last episode of Tokyo Ghoul Root A came out. It killed me and left me drowning in tears. I still get really sad about it, but I comfort myself with the knowledge that Hide's fate is unknown in the manga!

If this brought forth tears, I hope that the next chapter will either leave you in tears or with a band-aid. On a side-note, writing Naruto fighting is tough since he's so strong! There's a lot more action scenes than I anticipated. See ya!


	9. Memory 8: The Promise That Saved Him

Memory 8: The Promise That Saved Him

It was so cold. So cold and dark.

Not even the full moon comforted him that night.

He had never felt so empty until now. His masked eyes felt too dry, and his chest tight with grief. How could he had failed? How could he have been so blind?! Now...now she wasn't there anymore.

Genma's hands fisted in frustration and regret. Even if he was grieving, he had begged his captain to let him take watch of the blond jinchuriki. It would help him get back on his feet. Pretend everything was normal, pretend that his girlfriend would be waiting for him, pretend that she hadn't died on his watch.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the window of his young charge opening. Was something going on? Then the small, five year-old blond climbed onto the window ledge and sat there. Bright blue eyes stared straight at him and the blond, gravity-defying hair leaned to the left as the boy tilted his head. "Are you okay?"

Genma blinked in surprise at the question. The boy never actually talked to any of the ANBU, not unless he had a question about their identity. Sighing at the expectant stare, Genma jumped from the opposite roof to the same ledge. He figured he'd give into the boy's inquire. It was better than just watching over the boy. It'd be nice to talk as well, make sure his vocal chords still worked.

"Are you sad?" the boy repeated curiously.

Sad? That didn't even cover the tip of the iceberg. He was pissed at being a failure, frustrated at his inability to protect, depressed because he just lost the only person who loved him, and...and lonely as well. Maybe it was because he was still a teenager, but he still desired attention and love. Didn't everyone?

"You know, when I'm sad, I go eat at Ichiraku Ramen! Ayame-nee-chan is really nice! And ramen is really, really yummy!" Taking a breath, Naruto continued with wide eyes as a sudden idea entered his head. "Are you hungry? I can make some ramen! I've got pork, miso, beef, seafood-"

"You don't need to do that," Genma cut in. The last time he tried eating something, he recalled _her_ food. It just made him throw away his store-bought bento in disgust and anger.

The small boy raised an eyebrow, or at least, _tried_ to. He was obviously trying to copy what he saw someone else do, but failing. "Then why are you sad?"

Genma sighed, why was he talking to the boy again? "Look, you should get back in bed kid. It's late."

Almost like he swallowed something sour, the boy scrunched up his face. "But you're up! That's not fair!"

Genma raised an eyebrow underneath his dragon-designed mask. "Life's not fair, better start getting used to it." _You're going to have a tougher life after all,_ he added mentally.

"But Ayame-nee-chan says that you have to play fairly!"

He sighed. "That's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" The boy's face scrunched up again as he spoke, confusion radiating off of him.

"You're only five right now, you'll understand when you're older," Genma retorted in irritation.

"Hey!" The boy jumped up and down in indignation. "I'm seven years old!"

"You are?!" Genma was shocked. The boy was small for a seven year old. He had thought the files on the boy was wrong, there was no way a seven year old could be so small. Then again, the blond wasn't getting the proper nutrition. He felt a tinge of guilt at not doing anything to help the blond's growth, but then again, feeding the boy wasn't part of the job description unless the seven year old was dying of hunger.

With a large grin, the boy put his hands on his hips. "Yep! So that means I'm older now! Tell me what you mean!"

Genma struggled to stay calm. This kid was pushing his luck today. Maybe he should've just stayed at the base like his captain suggested. He wasn't sure if he could keep himself emotionally detached right now. Why couldn't the brat just keep to himself like usual? Whatever, he started a conversation, he might as well finish it. "I mean that the people we love may die in front of our eyes...and we can't do anything! I...I couldn't do anything to save her."

The image of her body falling in an unmoving heap ran through his mind. The way her black hair suddenly ignited as Rooster lit her body up to protect Konoha's secrets. She didn't even have time to scream or gasp.

Thinking about it, he didn't know why he was telling this to a kid. Maybe because the kid was actually listening? Maybe because Genma envied the naivety the boy had...

The boy in front of him was so innocent, naive, and just the exact opposite of Genma. The blond didn't have blood on his hands or go through a war. This little boy in front of him didn't have to kill a father with twins who got a bit out of line. Those blue eyes didn't witness a peaceful village turn into a crazy, bloodthirsty mob. His hands didn't have to squeeze the life out of a child no older than eight.

And yet, this boy still saw the world reflected in those azure orbs. He saw the cruelty of adults, the exclusion of children his age, and the rare altruism that existed in a few people. For a moment, Genma had to wonder just how mentally old the child in front of him was. For all he knew, this kid could be another Itachi rolled up in a bundle of golds, blues, and orange.

"You don't have anyone to love you?"

"And you do?" Ah, damn, he didn't mean to say that. Genma watched as the kid flinched at his cruel retort. He opened his mouth to apologize but closed it when the boy sat up straighter, the blue eyes now shining with determination.

"I do! I've got Teuchi-jiji, Ayame-nee-chan, Manami-chan, and the Old Man! Teuchi-jiji himself told me what love is! He said that love was important to everyone, that everyone could fall in love! He told me that love was when you always think of someone, when you want that person to be happy, and when you would willingly die for them!"

Genma could only stare at the small boy in front of him. It took him a few moments to collect himself. Yes, he was really being lectured about love by a seven year old. Yet, he couldn't sound a protest, those earnest sky-blue eyes and the conviction in the blond's voice stopped Genma completely.

Stopping to take a breath, the boy looked back up at Genma, determination burning brightly in the blue orbs, and a smile on the small lips. "If you're sad that no one will ever love you again, _I'll_ love you then!"

What?! The teen had to regain his balance at the sudden proclamation. "Oi oi, do you even know what you're saying?! Love isn't easy, kid! You can't just say that you'll fall in love by saying it!"

"Says who?" the kid challenged back.

"Says _me, _the one with experience," Genma shot back in irritation. This brat really knew how to get under his skin!

Then he watched in confusion as the boy just grinned at him. "Then you can be my first love so that I get more experience! Don't worry, it's a promise, dattebayo!"

_His what?!_ Genma wasn't sure how to take this. Was he this irritating and confusing as a child?

One part of him wanted to just hop back, pretend this conversation didn't happen, and go to sleep. The other part, however, was a bit kinder to the kid. He knew that the boy had it rough from almost everyone. He'd be a hypocrite to be snide and ignore the boy, and that just rubbed him the wrong way. Even if he had killed many people, innocent or guilty, he still had honor as a human being. Sighing, he decided to indulge the kid. "Really now? You better take responsibility then."

"Res-ponsi-what?"

He couldn't help it, he laughed at how clueless the blond looked. Honestly, with that lecture, he thought that the boy would've had a large vocabulary. His right hand automatically reached over to ruffle the boy's gravity-defying hair. Surprisingly, the blond tufts were really soft. "Teuchi-san didn't teach you that?"

The kid puffed his cheeks out and crossed his arms. "...No..."

"Then you've got a long way to go before you fall in love with me, kid. I'm not falling for someone who doesn't know what responsibility is."

A sudden spark gleamed in the boy's eyes. "Wait, so you'll agree?! Awesome! Wait 'till I tell Teuchi-jiji about this! I've got someone to love too!"

Genma couldn't help but tease the small boy. "Oh, so you wanna go for the long run?"

"Huh?"

He grinned. "Marriage, kid. Lucky you, getting me as your husband." To be honest, Genma had never really cared about gender barriers. Whether it was a guy or a lady didn't matter, all he cared about was if the feeling was mutual.

"Whoa! You can do that?!" Once again, like the stars in the night sky, the boy's eyes twinkled in excitement. Then he frowned just as fast as his eyes brightened up. "Wait, then wouldn't that make me the wife?! I don't wanna be the girl! I'm manly -ttebayo!"

The teen raised an eyebrow at that. "Hmm, manly how?"

The blond grinned and puffed up his chest. "I'm gonna be Hokage!"

"And?"

The boy looked confused, and Genma realized that the boy only thought being the Hokage was manly enough. "Look, if you want to be a husband, then you're going to have to surpass me first, then I'll consider you manly, kid."

Blinking, the blond asked, "What are you then?"

Smirking, Genma proudly told the boy, "ANBU, which is above a jonin, chuunin, genin, and an Academy student."

"Then I'll be Hokage!"

Genma sighed, it was like the kid was on repeat. "It's not that easy. Even then, do you even know what married couples do?"

Scrunching up his face, the boy replied, "They kiss and hug right?"

He sighed. "There's more than just that, kid. We would have to move in, cook dinner for each other, draw a bath for each other, and..." he trailed off. The blond was way, _way_ too young for what usually follows after a romantic dinner and bath.

"And?" the boy excitedly asked, his blue eyes full of awe. "What else?!"

Genma smirked behind his mask. "And some other things you're too young to know right now."

"Aww!" With a pout, the boy leaned on Genma's knee and looked up with puppy eyes. _What the—?!_

Once again, Genma almost lost his balance from the boy's actions. _Where did he learn this?! _The teen had plenty of experience with puppy eyes from his deceased girlfriend, but her expression was _nothing _next the small boy's. Heck, even the night sky was against him! The full moon highlighted the blond's hair like a mother's gentle caress, the stars shone brightly in azure pools, and even the cold night air became warm for a nanosecond as it ruffled blond tufts like a proud father would.

Shaking his head at the sudden poetic thoughts, Genma forced himself to relax. After her death, he had shrugged off any sort of physical contact. Had he really been that off-guard for a seven-year old to get so close? No, had he really been that...comfortable?

The boy tilted his head again, his face furrowed in concentration. "Do married people dance and sing to each other?"

Genma raised an eyebrow at the suggestion. "Only on special occasions. Where'd you hear that?" With a bright smile, the boy happily told Genma about Teuchi and his late wife's love for each other. "...Yeah, that's not happening everyday."

The thought of serenading each other every single night was horrifying to him. For Teuchi to do that for over a decade, Genma decided the old man deserved a lot more respect.

His face fell. "Eh? Aww, fine..." Suddenly, he brightened up again, causing Genma to wonder if the boy was always this hyper. "Then can we go out on picnics?! I've always wanted to go on a picnic! I've never been on one before!"

Feeling a bit of pity for the small boy who wasn't able to experience what everyone should, Genma nodded. "Sure, but no ramen." He ignored the loud shout of protest and continued on. "I'll have to take you out on dates then..." With a sigh, he reminded himself that at least the boy won't buy so much. "Maybe we can start with something simple first?"

"Like a picnic?!"

With a smile, Genma nodded. "Why not? Next, maybe a festival?" When he was met with silence, the brunet noticed the sullen look on the blond. A distant memory of how the blond was treated floated to him, and he mentally winced at his suggestion. "Or maybe we can go to—"

"I wanna go to the hot springs!"

"Hot springs?" Genma didn't have anything against going there, but didn't people want to go to the movies next? Hot springs was a bit... Well it was a bit mature wasn't it? _I mean,_ _doesn't it usually lead to...that?_

Right now, he felt no physical attraction to the seven year old (he was no pedophile!), but of course, that could very well change. After all, the boy had a tolerable personality. Genma didn't mind the hyperness or the never-ending ideas once he got used to it. It was refreshing after having to deal with the apathy from being in ANBU.

Wait, was he actually considering taking the blond as his?!

"-Don't you agree?!"

"Huh?" Genma blinked, forgetting that the blond had been elaborating on his choice of place. "Actually, why don't we slow down a bit. We're getting too far ahead of ourselves, kid. If you haven't realized, you're only seven. I'm not dating a kid."

"...You don't want to love me?" Naruto pouted in dejection.

_How did he come to that conclusion?_ He sighed and flicked the boy on the forehead. "Don't put words in my mouth, kid. We won't be doing anything like a married couple until you're at least seventeen." Even _he_ had standards. "You don't see any married couples that have one that's seven do you?"

"Yes I do! All the girls in my class wanna be Sasuke-teme's wife! They always fight about it everyday!" It was amusing to Genma how the boy puffed out his cheeks like a hamster. The boy was definitely full of spirit.

With a heavy sigh, Genma decided he should try to explain what most girls felt. "Listen, what those girls feel is unlikely to last alright? Right now, they probably just like him because he's good-looking and he's an Uchiha. It wouldn't be the first time a parent has told their child to marry an Uchiha. What _I'm_ talking about with _you,_ that's something that's going to last."

Wait, he stopped as he completely digested his words. He agreed to being the kid's lover?! _No,_ he reminded himself, _This is just a joke. The kid's not serious about this._ The boy was seven, he'd probably forget it by tomorrow.

But Genma...he wouldn't forget it. Even if the seasons rolled by, he'd always remember. He'd remember how the boy called out to him, listened while he talked, and then made a promise to love Genma.

"Hey—" His voice died as he noticed the sleeping boy. He wondered if his knee was really that comfortable. Lifting up the boy, supporting his neck and under his knees, Genma moved carefully so that the blond didn't wake up.

In the middle of night, with only the blowing wind and singing crickets, Genma laughed at the sudden, _loud_, rumbling snore from the boy. Quickly, he stopped himself and dearly hoped no one heard the snore or his laugh.

Climbing through the open window, Genma tucked in the blond, sighing as he took a step back to admire his work. While he had never tucked in anyone before, he mentally agreed that he did a pretty good job. Nothing was sticking out and the blond was on his back—nope now the blond was on his side.

Holding in a chuckle at the drool starting to slip out, Genma shook his head. From his other times of watching the blond, he knew trying to fix the bedsheets would only be in vain.

With a sigh, Genma excused himself and silently closed the window. Jumping onto an opposite roof, Genma kneeled as he continued with his original duty. But, as he watched for potential dangers, his mind reeled to a stop when he realized what just happened with the blond.

He had _laughed_ and _chuckled._

He was slowly starting to accept she was gone and that he was moving on.

Somehow, the boy had been able to make him amused and relaxed... Genma didn't feel as tense or...lonely anymore. Would he actually fall for the blond? "No," is what he would say immediately, but thinking about it... Maybe, just maybe it could happen. Not now, and probably not for a few years, but perhaps one day.

He sighed softly as his gaze softened at the sleeping boy. _Maybe I will fall for you one day, Uzumaki Naruto..._

-To Be Continued-

AN: So I'm almost finished! Have your hearts been torn out like my own? Haha, who would've thought I would've been so into this pairing?

Next chapter is the last one! *sobs* I think my muse likes torturing me too much with all this sadness and then healing me with fluff! Maybe it's a side effect of too much Tokyo Ghoul?

So glad to hear from you both RukaRukia and CinnamonFudg3! Poor Genma, some things just never goes the way he wants it. Haha, I'm actually really happy with the love it gets right now really! But thanks so much!

And I hope this chapter helped with the tears (or if it's from the finale of Tokyo Ghoul, I suggest reading fluffy things with HideKane! That's what I do even if I still cry while reading it or just seeing fanart of them).

See ya in the last chapter!


	10. Memory 9: Goodbye to My Loathsome Past

Memory 9: Goodbye to My Loathsome Past

His eyes snapped open. In the darkness that greeted him, as his eyes adjusted, he could hear his heavy breathing. Thinking back about his dreams and the mental torture of seeing _him_ dead was terrifying. His chest still felt cold, as though fear and horror had grown hands that refused to let go of his heart. Even his eyes tingled, the unrelenting dreams that refused to let him sleep, the dreams that started off so well yet ended with his heart and spirit crushed, all of that was just too damn much.

_Shit..._ He brought up his right hand to cover his eyes, hiding the tears that threatened to fall. After gathering his composure, or what little was left after that nightmare, he took a deep breath, trying to relax.

"Hey, you alright?"

Naruto flinched at that voice. The same voice that had been in his dreams. The same voice that suggested activities he was too dense to notice. The voice that came from lips always in a lazy grin, a gaze from dark brown eyes with a predatory glint in them. He tried to relax, to force his tense body to pretend everything was alright _because it was._ No more would such a tragedy befall this world.

Realizing his bedmate was waiting for a response, Naruto opened his lips, intent on giving a positive response, but what came out wasn't what he expected. It wasn't even a word that left his lips, just a strangled sound. A sound that reflected how he felt after his memories left him.

There was just too many damn emotions. Regret at not being strong enough, fear of everything being taken away, despair always lurking in the back of his mind, anger at his own failures, and lastly, he just felt too relieved. No more would he have to deal with that haunting silence of a dead Konoha. Now he and his faithful friends could all live in a better world, a world that wouldn't leave them in despair and weeping over the destroyed past.

Before he could even try saying something again, warm arms wrapped around his torso.

Removing his right hand, his blue eyes automatically looked over at the older man beside him, and he remembered it.

Genma was alive. _Genma_ _was alive_. He didn't have a hole through his stomach. The brunet didn't have blood splattered on his hair that spilled onto the floor, painting Naruto's world with a vermillion red that was too hot because Naruto couldn't heal the fatal wound. Because Naruto didn't know enough medical jutsus to help the man who had left the world with unfinished words of love. Because every time he tried to heal him by transferring chakra, he only hurt him more.

"Ge-" Naruto tried again, stubbornly trying to let the name of the man who had loved him so much, but he was caught off guard.

"I know, Naruto, I know," Genma whispered back as he turned to lay on his right side to face the younger man. His brown eyes were understanding, his voice low and soothing. "I went through bad dreams too." His lips quirked up as he recalled his own dream. "Wanna listen to my dream?"

Shuffling to his left side, Naruto nodded, his throat too tight to say anything.

With a low chuckle, Genma brushed back some strands of hair that covered the younger man's face. He noted the full moon present in their bedroom window, surrounded by stars each twinkling as though to cheer up the moon and show it wasn't alone. Just like his dream, moonlight caressed Naruto and for a moment, Genma was brought back to that one night where he truly noticed Uzumaki Naruto and not the jinchuriki holding the Kyuubi.

Deciding he had spent enough time admiring the blond in his bed, he slowly began retelling the dream. "I dreamed of the time you comforted me, Naruto."

Instantly, Naruto scrunched his face and pulled back a bit, using the orange cover to hide.

Almost sighing at the thought Genma knew was definitely running through the blond's head, he made sure to clarify himself. "It's not a dirty dream, Naruto." He waited for the blond to come closer again before he continued with a small smirk. "Although if you want, we can certainly-"

"Genma."

He couldn't help it; Genma chuckled at the exasperated look sent his way. "Sorry, couldn't help it. Now, now, don't pout like that, you're teasing me."

With a sigh, the brunet laid on his back, but didn't let go of Naruto, instead he brought the blond closer to his bare chest to remind Naruto he was still alive. Fortunately, he didn't fight against Genma and if anything, moved closer to him, enveloping himself in as much warmth as possible.

"You were only seven and just like tonight, it was a full moon. I was still in ANBU, watching over you to make sure you didn't get hurt." He sent a playful grin at Naruto. "You were so small I thought for sure you were five." Ignoring the small grumble of a protest, he continued on. "That week, I lost my girlfriend, the girl I thought I'd marry. She died right in front of me, and I couldn't do anything to save her."

At Naruto's flinch, he tightened his grip on the blond and gave a sad smile. "It's never easy to see someone you care die in front of you. I was a teenager, and I was stupid and naïve. I thought 'this is the end, I'll never move on from her,' and then you suddenly decided to talk to me."

"That's 'cause you looked sad out there," Naruto added in a soft voice, his own mind traveling down memory lane.

Raising an eyebrow, Genma's brown eyes softened and a smile lit his face. "Did I look that pitiful?" he joked. "Anyway, you told me that if I didn't have anyone to love me, _you'd_ love me."

Naruto gawked at the older man. "W-wait a sec, did I seriously-"

"Yep. Even said you'd marry me," Genma added with a full-blown grin.

Looking at him suspiciously, Naruto pointed out, "How come I don't remember that?"

"You don't?" Genma replied, surprised. "Huh, and here I thought I'd simply reminisce our little promise with you. Maa maa, I guess I'll just try to joggle your memory," he added with a smile. Nuzzling blond hair, Genma backed away, enjoying the shy gaze from Naruto who suddenly had no idea what to do. "Did you really think I suggested a picnic as our first date for no reason?"

"What?" His blue eyes grew at Genma's words. So that picnic seriously was a date?!

Nodding proudly, Genma continued, "Our next date's supposed to be at the hot springs, your request again of course. Naturally we'll be sharing a room and of course a private bath just for us, so we can-"

"Alright, alright! Get back to your dream Genma!" Naruto shouted, his cheeks flaming red at what the other man was suggesting.

Laughing, Genma apologized before he got on track. He really just can't help but tease the blond. "Let's see, my favorite part that day was when after talking up so late, you fell asleep on me and when I carried you back to your bed, you snored."

Thinly hiding his irritation at being teased, Naruto glared at the man again.

With a lazy smile, the brunet added, "It's my favorite because you got me to laugh again."

Naruto's irritation faded away, replacing it with embarrassment at the tender way Genma said it. His cheeks were suddenly way too warm and unused to the soft affection from Genma's eyes that didn't leave his face, his eyes darted around the dark room lit only by moonlight. What was he supposed to say?! "I-I..."

"Naruto," the blond shut his mouth, forcing himself to look up at Genma. The brunet said his name so softly, yet there was something raw and deep about it, and Naruto realized, while he did feel embarrassed at the affection from Genma, it was comforting, and he wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. "Why don't we say goodbye to it? Your past, the place I died. I may not be the same man who was your bodyguard and sensei, but my feelings for you have never changed."

The warm brown gaze narrowed in seriousness as Genma tilted Naruto's chin up. "I won't lie, you've changed from the little boy who shouted out from the top of his lungs he wanted to be Hokage. You've been through so much, and you can't go back to the person you used to be."

His grip was gentle, making sure Naruto would pay attention to his words, but he was free to back away if he wanted to. Genma didn't want to trap Naruto. "But let me tell you this, Naruto. You've experienced so much, so say goodbye to that past. You've persevered and fixed the world. Don't deny yourself the happiness you want your friends to have so dearly."

Naruto froze as he slowly digested what Genma said. Saying goodbye? To the past?

"Naruto, the young man I see in front of me is the one I want to come back to Konoha for," Genma confessed; Naruto needed to hear this. "He's the one I'd fight for, the one I'd want to smile at me only, and the only sun I need."

As Genma's lips moved closer to Naruto's, the blue-eyed blond could only stare with wide eyes. Genma cared for him that much? Before their lips could touch, Genma swiftly moved to Naruto's forehead and placed a kiss there. Naruto felt vaguely disappointed at the kiss there, and yet, he knew exactly why the man would kiss him there.

Trust.

It was a strange feeling to know that Genma trusted him, but it wasn't a bad kind of strange. If anything, the smile he had on his face was enough to tell the other man he was happy. It's okay to be happy now he slowly realized; it's okay to say goodbye to the past that haunted him so much. It'll be alright because all of his friends are alive and happy. Even if the seasons die one by one, another season will come again.

As Genma pulled away, Naruto stopped the man, cupping his cheek. "You..." he felt speechless and at the same time, there were so many words he wanted to say. His chest felt lighter now, after their chat. While he knew it'd take some time for him to accept what had happened in the past, he knew he wasn't alone.

Not anymore. Not with his friends by his side. Not with Genma by his side.

"You're so cheesy, I swear," Naruto finally replies with a larger smile.

Genma huffed and cradled the calloused hand on his cheek. "Well no one else has to know right?" His lips settled into his trademark smirk that sent hearts thumping into overdrive.

Naruto laughs out loud, enjoying this moment of peace, a moment he knows he won't take for granted. Taking a deep breath to release all of his emotions, he looks straight into brown orbs which were dark like the night sky, yet with only the moonlight, Naruto knew how those eyes could instantly flash into a brown color like freshly turned soil, deep with passion and yet light enough to still breathe freely.

What he felt for Genma wasn't just admiration or adoration. No, to call what he felt such things were wrong. What he felt was a mixture of emotions so confusing yet so clear at the same time. It was a supercell of feelings: so rare, yet so strong and powerful.

"Genma," he calls out softly just enough to catch the other's attention. He beams with a thousand-watt smile as Genma who raises an eyebrow curiously. "Thank you."

The man's caught off-guard, but his wide eyes fade as he smiles lovingly. He moves Naruto's hand against his cheek to his lips, pressing the inside of Naruto's palm to his lips which curved up in an intimate smile. The words of the action are unspoken, because both of them know just how strong those two words were.

'I love you' just wasn't strong enough to completely convey their feelings. They were grateful for where they were now, for being able to meet each other, for living long enough, and for accepting each other. To Naruto and Genma, 'thank you' was everything. It was strong, it was kind, it was understanding, and it was unconditional. Not even disasters and death could destroy what they felt.

"Naruto," he whispered to the young blond as he closed the distance between their lips. "For you, I'd do anything because..." He smiled sweetly, full of hope for a future and world where Naruto could laugh and cry in relief. Where the blond could eat ramen and Genma's home-cooked meals. Where the blond could nap on his lap or complain about the Council. Where Naruto was loved and accepted because he was finally home.

"...You're everything to me," Genma finished softly, and he closed the space, enjoying the softness and pure bliss of the moment because he knew it wasn't just Naruto that arrived home, Genma was home as well and he wasn't going anywhere.

-The End-

Damn. I. I don't even know what happened to me. Wow...I...I'm done. To be honest, this pairing left me speechless. I didn't expect to go down this road. Woah.

I'm actually really happy I ended this way as well. I was actually going to end this on the last chapter for angst, but I couldn't do it. These two are like my friends, I wanted them to be happy, so this appeared with so much flowery language and fluff, I'm honestly surprised I wrote this.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed this! Thank you very much for everything! Your support and comments always made my day! I hope you'll all find another fanfic to read!

Bye!


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